Press Conference by Minister Saito (Excerpt)

*Note: This is a provisional translation for reference purposes only.

10:56 to 11:02 a.m.
Tuesday, July 9, 2024
Press Conference Room, METI Main Building

Opening Remarks

None

Question-and-Answer Session

Request for electricity saving

Q: Please let me reaffirm the situation concerning electricity supply and demand as to whether or not there is no change as of today in the government’s intention to refrain from issuing a request to make efforts to save electricity this year.

A: First, I would like to say that we have decided so far to not issue a request to make efforts to save electricity this summer because it is expected that an electricity reserve ratio of at least 4% can be secured. Yesterday, it was extremely hot in central Tokyo, too, with the highest temperature recorded reaching 36 degrees Celsius, and in response to this, electricity demand in the Tokyo area reached 54.87 million kilowatts, but it did not reach the maximum demand of 57.81 million kilowatts, which is an estimate based on the results of demand in the past. Moreover, facilities for LNG thermal power generation, which had been shut down for regular inspections, will resume operations around the latter half of July, so we expect that the electricity supply will be topped up.

Meanwhile, I recognize that the situation of electricity supply and demand is unpredictable because extremely hot weather is forecasted to continue. Therefore, we will closely and cautiously watch this situation by using the results of supply-and-demand monitoring. Moreover, it goes without saying that if a severe situation is expected, we will take all possible measures to ensure the stable supply of electricity, including measures for increasing the supply capacity as appropriate.