Power Company Not to Start Rolling Blackouts in Quake

Tohoku Electric Power Co. will not impose staggered power outages in the northeast region due to amply supply following the region's power conservation efforts, the utility said Friday.

The power company has managed to avoid enforcing power cuts even though much of its service area was adversely affected by the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami that struck the region.

The utility said it will review the situation from April 3, but said it plans to restart a mothballed 38-year old, 350-megawatt power generation unit in early June, to provide more electricity in an effort to counter power shortages in the area by supplying more electricity to the grid.

Tohoku Electric Power Co. said it started inspections of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil-fired No.1 unit at the Higashi Niigata plant in Niigata Prefecture on Tuesday and has received approval to increase power generation at the aged facility beyond capacity at two of the facility's generators.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, said it will continue with its staggered blackouts in Tokyo and surrounding areas, particularly as demand constantly threatens to outstrip supply, during peak-times of between 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM when millions of commuters are returning home.

TEPCO started the rolling blackouts on March 14 and the planned power outages affect most of TEPCO's service area either once or twice between 9:20 AM and 10:00 AM.

The utility said the power-saving measures will continue through April.