Kyushu Electric calls on businesses, public to cut power usage in winter

Kyushu Electric Power Co on Wednesday called on households and businesses in its service area to cooperate with its proposed winter power-conservation drive in an attempt to reduce electricity demand by 5% this year.

The request follows an announcement made Tuesday by Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano who said that both the Kansai and Kyushu regions may face power shortages because a number of nuclear power plants remain offline. Edano recommended that power usage in the Kansai area be cut by 10% and Kyushu by 5%.

Kyushu Electric says that electricity supply is already strained, and likely to become more so if six proposed nuclear power plant shutdowns are carried out in December, Jiji Press reported.

The utility is requesting that companies and individuals take steps to reduce demand on weekdays between Dec 1 and Mar 30 of next year. The company says that it would like to urge particular restraint at the peak periods of 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Jiji reported.

The company says it also plans to purchase power from other operators and individual electricity producers in an attempt to conserve 130,000 kilowatts of energy this winter

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