Japan's electricity grid creaked on Thursday under the strain of Tokyo's hottest June streak since 1875, as the sudden shutdown of a power plant left tens of millions of residents a step closer to blackouts that would bring air conditioners to a halt.
Temperatures of around 40 C were predicted in some areas in greater Tokyo, home to 37 million people, on the sixth day of a heatwave that kicked in after the earliest end to the capital's rainy season in decades. Maximum highs are not forecast to drop to 30 C before next Tuesday.
With power producers already scrambling to bring nearly 50-year-old turbines out of mothballs, the unexpected closure of a 600 megawatt plant in northern Japan that sends supplies to Tokyo came with reserve power capacity hovering around 3% - the level below which blackouts can kick in.Operator Joban Kyodo Thermal Power Company cited unexplained technical issues for the closure, adding no schedule for restart had been decided.
A mid-morning estimate showed the reserve ratio of power generation capacity for the Tokyo area could fall as low as 3% between 4.30 p.m. and 5 p.m. local time on Thursday, according to national grid monitor OCCTO. The industry ministry issued a power shortage warning for the fourth consecutive day in areas surrounding Tokyo, urging both households and businesses to conserve electricity as best they can - without stinting on air conditioning where it would endanger the health of the vulnerable, as heatstroke hospitalistions rise.
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