The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Kajiyama, said that after the earthquakes that observed seismic intensity 6 upper in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, the thermal power plants stopped one after another and a power outage occurred temporarily, in order to avoid a large-scale power outage called blackout. He acknowledged that it was necessary to power outages in some areas and that the power company's response was appropriate.
In the earthquake on February 13, thermal power plants in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures were shut down one after another, and power outages occurred in a total of about 950,000 households from Kanto to Tohoku, all of which were resolved on the 14th. Did.
Regarding this, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kajiyama said at a meeting after the Cabinet meeting on the 16th, "Immediately after the earthquake, the power plant for 6.5 million kilowatts, which is about 10% of the supply capacity in the jurisdiction of Tokyo and Tohoku Electric Power, was urgently shut down to ensure safety. , It has been reported that due to the imbalance between supply and demand of electricity, some areas were automatically cut off in order to avoid a major power outage throughout the region. "
He added, "It is better not to have a power outage, but I think we were able to respond to the crisis by avoiding a long-term power outage such as a blackout," he said in some areas. He acknowledged that the response of the electric power company that caused the power outage was appropriate.
Minister Kajiyama also said that electric power companies are currently working toward the restoration of thermal power plants, and that there is no problem with the stable supply of electric power.