Concerns are growing over a tightening up in the supply-demand balance for electricity in Japan this winter.With the supply-demand circumstance seen becoming more extreme in February, power business are rushing to avoid a problem from happening at their power stations.Some alert that the ongoing decarbonization drive might lead to a tight supply-demand balance ending up being a structural issue in the power industry.A deterioration in the supply-demand balance could trigger a massive power failure. On Jan. 6, a heavy snow warning was released for Tokyo for the first time in four years.On Jan. 11, Kansai Electric Power Co. supplied electrical energy to Hokuriku Electric Power Co., which faced a problem at a thermal power station.The electrical energy reserve margin is anticipated to fall to 3.1% at Tepco and to 3.9% at six other power firms, consisting of Kansai Electric, in February if the weather is extremely cold in their service locations, even if long-mothballed thermal power plants are reactivated.The supply-demand balance “would become tight quickly if something happens at a power station,” an authorities at the industry ministry said.Behind the regular tightening up in the supply-demand balance are not just an increase in demand for electrical energy for heating however also the spread of power generation using solar and other eco-friendly energy sources, which is prone to weather condition, some analysts said.Tightening in the electrical power supply-demand balance “might become a seasonal function in winter season in a bad sense,” a power industry authorities said.There is a strategy to strengthen the power grid to make sure that electricity supplies in between power companies are made flexibly.But power scarcities when weather is unstable are a significant concern even in Europe, which is leading other parts of the world in the facility of international power grids and promotion of eco-friendly energy.At concern are medium- to long-term efforts to stabilize decarbonization with stable electrical power supply, experts said.
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