https://www.smart-energy.com/industry-sectors/energy-grid-management/japan-utility-calls-rescue-from-winter-demand-spike/
[Somehow, this piece does not mention climate change, despite the fact
that unusual weather is the cause of the increased (heating) demand and
snow is the cause of the reduced PV output.]
Chubu Electric Power Company, third largest utility In Japan, has
requested power supplies from seven other utilities to meet rising
demand, according to Reuters.
The demand spike has been caused by cold weather and insufficient output
from solar generation systems.
Chubu said in a statement that it had received up to 1.05GW of power
from the other utilities.
“We are also ramping up one of our coal-fired power plants and one of
our LNG (liquefied natural gas) power stations as electricity demand for
heat increased due to lower-than-expected temperatures and cloudy
weather caused lower-than-expected output from solar power,” a spokesman
at Chubu Electric said.
The power providers include Tohoku Electric Power, TEPCO Power Grid, a
unit of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Hokuriku Electric Power,
Hokkaido Electric Power, Chugoku Electric Power, Shikoku Electric Power
and Kyushu Electric Power, he said.
“We may start up some old fossil fuel power plants that had been
mothballed to meet higher demand,” the spokesman said.
The last time the company needed power from other utilities was in
February 2017.
