Because of the March Tohoku earthquake and loss of Fukushima nuclear reactor and damage to its supply lines, Tokyo Electricity Power Company (TEPCO) is in very difficult situation this year.
And so are most of its customers.
It has asked all it's customers to cut 15% electricity consumption this summer. If you have been to Japan during peak summer (July, August) you know that how much torture it is to be here during this period. Maximum temperature rises up to 40 degree Celsius and humidity never allows you to go anywhere.
Companies and businesses already have started saving electricity from March. They are undertaking many steps including
My own company is following most of the above and has decided to shut down entire offices across Tokyo region for couple of weeks by giving extended summer vacation to the employees.
Yahoo and many major news sites have live feeds for electricity consumption monitoring like below.
Lower part is the actual and projected peak timings for entire week.
As you can see, today (28th June) maximum usage peaked at 99%. Today's maximum temperature was ONLY 31 degrees and yet consumption reached 99% of TEPCO capacity!! Imagine what will happen when the temperatures cross 35 or reaches near to 40 degrees. If this graph crosses 100% then there are certain blackouts!!
Everything is not bleak for everyone though. Many companies are making good business on this too. Like Toshiba. LED bulbs similar as shown here which consume up to 90% less electricity than conventional bulbs are making sales like never before.
We started switching off lights, stop using AC and use the fan instead since April this year. Our reduced electricity bill was the only "consolation prize". But it seems clear now that even all these steps are not going to be sufficient to provide stable electricity supply in Tokyo region this year.
Hospitals, nursing homes, families with newborns, sick or disabled people in their homes are going to be at the highest risk. For a city once ranked 3rd in the world for its livability, this summer is going to test limits of some of its capabilities. It has been a year of strange weather in Japan since winter. Let's hope the summer is also *strange* and does not cross 35 degrees.
I am really praying that TEPCO succeeds in avoiding blackouts. But I am not going to take risk and preparing for darker nights and hotter days is what I am going to do this weekend!
And so are most of its customers.
It has asked all it's customers to cut 15% electricity consumption this summer. If you have been to Japan during peak summer (July, August) you know that how much torture it is to be here during this period. Maximum temperature rises up to 40 degree Celsius and humidity never allows you to go anywhere.
Companies and businesses already have started saving electricity from March. They are undertaking many steps including
- Dimmed lighting. Removing tube lights and bulbs from their sockets.
- Stopping some of the elevators.
- No overtime policy.
- Merging their staff on single floor and shutting off empty floors entirely.
- Work from home.
- Less or no electric displays for advertising.
- Shortened business hours.
- Setting air conditioner temperatures at around 26 to 28 degrees.
My own company is following most of the above and has decided to shut down entire offices across Tokyo region for couple of weeks by giving extended summer vacation to the employees.
Yahoo and many major news sites have live feeds for electricity consumption monitoring like below.
Live feeds on electricity consumption (Actual and projection). Source: yahoo.co.jpUpper part of the graph is the graph for today and projected peak for coming week.
Lower part is the actual and projected peak timings for entire week.
As you can see, today (28th June) maximum usage peaked at 99%. Today's maximum temperature was ONLY 31 degrees and yet consumption reached 99% of TEPCO capacity!! Imagine what will happen when the temperatures cross 35 or reaches near to 40 degrees. If this graph crosses 100% then there are certain blackouts!!
Everything is not bleak for everyone though. Many companies are making good business on this too. Like Toshiba. LED bulbs similar as shown here which consume up to 90% less electricity than conventional bulbs are making sales like never before.
We started switching off lights, stop using AC and use the fan instead since April this year. Our reduced electricity bill was the only "consolation prize". But it seems clear now that even all these steps are not going to be sufficient to provide stable electricity supply in Tokyo region this year.
Hospitals, nursing homes, families with newborns, sick or disabled people in their homes are going to be at the highest risk. For a city once ranked 3rd in the world for its livability, this summer is going to test limits of some of its capabilities. It has been a year of strange weather in Japan since winter. Let's hope the summer is also *strange* and does not cross 35 degrees.
I am really praying that TEPCO succeeds in avoiding blackouts. But I am not going to take risk and preparing for darker nights and hotter days is what I am going to do this weekend!
