Monday July 23, 11:05 pm Eastern Time

Japan sets record peak power output on heat wave

TOKYO, July 24 (Reuters) - Power output by Japan's 10 utilities peaked at a record 178.72 million kilowatts (kW) at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT) on Monday, marking a new high for the first time this summer, an industry body said.

The output surpassed the previous record of 173.07 million kW marked on August 25 last year, the Federation of Electric Power Companies said on Tuesday.

The heat wave has caused temperatures to rise near 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) almost every day in many regions of Japan, prompting heavy use of air conditioners especially during the hottest hours of the day.

Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc (TEPCO) said on Monday its peak power output reached a record 62.54 million kilowatts (kW) on the same day, setting an all-time high for the fourth time this summer.

Chubu Electric Power Co also marked a record peak power output on Monday.

-- mark (mrobinowitz@igc.org), July 24, 2001

Answers

Japanese Power Demand Hits Record for 2nd Day Jiji Press English News Service ( July 24, 2001 )

Tokyo, July 24 (Jiji Press)--Peak demand for electricity registered by 10 Japanese power companies Tuesday broke the previous day's record high, forcing one power utility to rely on emergency power supply from other companies.

The Federation of Electric Power Companies said demand reached 182,378,000 kilowatts at 3 p.m. (6 a.m. GMT), surpassing the previous record high of 178,726,000 set the previous day.

Intense heat continued to grill the eastern and central parts of Japan, further accelerating demand for air conditioning.

Sakuma Town, Shizuoka Prefecture, marked the highest temperature for the summer at 40.2 degrees centigrade, and Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, 40.0 degrees. In Tokyo and Nagoya, temperature rose over 38 degrees.

Among individual power companies, Tokyo Electric Power Co. , Chubu Electric Power Co. , Chugoku Electric Power Co. and Kyushu Electric Power Co. registered their highest peak electricity demand ever.

Of the four companies, Tokyo Electric marked its second consecutive day of record peak power demand, its fifth new record this summer.

To deal with the hefty demand, the company received electricity from three other companies, using an emergency power-sharing arrangement for the first time since September 1998.

Tokyo Electric bought 800,000 kilowatts from Tohoku Electric Power Co. , Hokuriku Electric Power Co. and Shikoku Electric Power Co. , boosting its supply capacity to 66.25 million kilowatts. Peak electric demand at Tokyo Electric for the day reached 64.3 million kilowatts, leaving a reserve of only 3 pct.

Tokyo Electric will continue to use the power-sharing arrangement, company officials said, adding that the company can also supply up to 2.3 million kilowatts more if it restarts nuclear power plants now under inspection and thermal power stations that have suspended operations. [2]

http://199.97.97.163/IMDS%PMAINTL0% read%/home/content/users/imds/feeds/bellsuper/2001/07/24/JIJI/0000- 2154-KEYWORD.Missing

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 25, 2001.