This rare alert calls on companies and households to conserve power as Tokyo is experiencing snow and unusually cold temperatures for early spring. It also prompts the use of heaters.
Last Wednesday’s magnitude-7.4 earthquake off Fukushima killed four people and left more than 230 injured. It also reminded people of the devastating March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which caused a nuclear accident and decimated northeastern Japan.
The temporary power outages caused by last week’s earthquake were felt in Tokyo and eight other cities.
Officials stated that power has been restored but that the grid was being severely affected by unusual snowfall and cold.
Economy and Industry Minister Koichi Hagiuda stated that the conservation efforts were not sufficient to prevent blackouts by midafternoon.
Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport partially shut down lights and air conditioning in terminals. To aid conservation efforts, some amusement parks and companies in the area switched to backup generators.
Tuesday marks the end to Japan’s COVID-19 nationwide restrictionsas signs of slowing were evident. Bars and restaurants were to resume normal hours of service, but guests may have to eat under dimmed lights.
Hagiuda warned that without further power conservation, blackouts would occur in large areas. She asked convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores and supermarkets to turn off neon signs, and encouraged manufacturing factories to conserve as much power as possible.
Although no blackouts have been reported, TEPCO’s subsidiary TEPCO Power Grid said that up to 3 million homes could lose power after 8 p.m.
