Heat Wave Pushes Japan Power Demand to Record High in July

Heat Wave Pushes Japan Power Demand to Record High in July

Aug 16 - Jiji Press English News Service

Tokyo, Aug. 16 (Jiji Press)--Japan's electricity demand in July soared to a record high as the searing heat wave pushed up air conditioning demand, an industry group said Monday.

The combined power demand at 10 Japanese utilities in the month surged 18.6 pct from a year earlier to 92.57 billion kilowatt- hours, rewriting the previous monthly record set in July 2001, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan said.

Thanks to high temperatures as well as brisk industrial demand, power demand showed year-on-year rises at nine utilities, while Okinawa Electric Power Co. , which serves the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, became the sole supplier that reported a drop.

Because the heat wave was particularly strong in the broader Tokyo area, power demand jumped 23.5 pct at Tokyo Electric Power Co. . Double-digit growth was also recorded by Kansai Electric Power Co. , up 19.1 pct, Chugoku Electric Power Co. , up 18.6 pct, and Chubu Electric Power Co. , up 18.4 pct.

The breakdown of power sources showed that output at hydroelectric power facilities fell 22.7 pct because of water shortages, while output grew 17.3 pct at thermal power facilities and 50.0 pct at nuclear power facilities due to the resumption of operations at Tokyo Electric-run nuclear reactors. END

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