Yesterday, on the 1st of July, the government imposed a legal restriction on the use of electricity in eastern Japan where almost all the power plants were seriously damaged by the 3/11earthquake and tsunami. The legal restriction was the first since the 1973 oil shock. Because these power plants haven't fully recovered yet, companies which use more than a certain amount of electricity are officially required to reduce electricity consumption by 15%. If they fail to meet the requirement, they will have to pay a fine. Other than those companies, no obligations have been imposed but everyone is strongly advised to cut electricity consumption by 15%. Since small companies and households consume about two-thirds of the total electricity used in the area, their efforts are also a key to avoiding sudden blackouts due to over capacity.
In eastern Japan, great efforts to cut electricity consumption have been constantly made since the 3/11 earthquake. Because of this, the restriction requires everybody to make further efforts in order to get through summer. In shopping malls, more lights than ever are off to keep air conditioning on. Although I'm already used to the dimness, to be honest, I was a little surprised by the darkness when I stopped by a shopping mall today.
Actually, to avoid sudden major power outages, it's also important to level electricity consumption. From this viewpoint, operations in some factories have been shifted mainly to night. Automobile industry announced about a month ago that their days off would be shifted form Saturdays and Sundays to Thursdays and Fridays, and then the shift was implemented the day before yesterday. The industry is so huge and has such a great influence on a lot of companies that it's expected that the shift will be effective in the leveling of electricity usage. On the other hand, a lot of workers who have days off on weekends and have to do with the industry can be forced to work during their days off. Some of my friends who are managers say in a resigned voice that the shift will surely deprive them of their days off. Since managers are usually not labor union members, they are often required to cover extra duties on special occasions. My friends complain that when they were young, they were forced to work long hours without fully getting overtime payment because of the Japanese working culture. Now that they are managers, they are required to work harder to cover duties of younger workers who are protected by their labor unions since companies are required to comply with the law more strictly than when they were young. Although they find it unreasonable, they tend to bow to the inevitable since it's very difficult for them to find a better working environment.
Anyway, in both April and May, I succeeded in reducing electricity consumption at home by 33% compared to the same month last year. I've realized how much I'd waste electricity.
Posters -Saving power-
http://setsuden.tumblr.com/
This is the TEPCO electricity forecast, which I check:
Yesterday, on the 1st of July, the government imposed a legal restriction on the use of electricity in eastern Japan where almost all the power plants were seriously damaged by the 3/11earthquake and tsunami. The legal restriction was the first since the 1973 oil shock. Because these power plants haven't fully recovered yet, companies which use more than a certain amount of electricity are officially required to reduce electricity consumption by 15%. If they fail to meet the requirement, they will have to pay a fine. Other than those companies, no obligations have been imposed but everyone is strongly advised to cut electricity consumption by 15%. Since small companies and households consume about two-thirds of the total electricity used in the area, their efforts are also a key to avoiding sudden blackouts due to over capacity.