In the face of rising electricity costs and severe power supply conditions, at the end of 2022, the Japanese government requires government agencies, commercial organizations and households across the country to take effective measures to save electricity from December 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023 .
However, Japanese experts said that it is difficult to determine whether power-saving measures can achieve great results.
The development of renewable energy is the fundamental way to deal with the power shortage.
In the district office of Itabashi Ward in Tokyo, that is, the office building of the district government, the office hall, which was brightly lit day and night in the past, was much darker, and only part of the lighting facilities were turned on.
During the lunch break, all the lighting in the office area was turned off, and the indoor light became even darker.
Uchiyama Takashi, deputy director of the Environmental Policy Section of the Department of Resources and Environment, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo: Specifically, we have set up such a power-saving level table, and implemented it according to this table, such as turning off the lights at random, turning off the lights at noon, and posting reminders Remind everyone to take the stairs as much as possible and take less elevators.
It’s just that now because of the new crown epidemic, we need to change the air, so sometimes we have to adjust the heating to be warmer. Our goal is to reduce electricity consumption by 15% compared to before the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Uchiyama Takashi said that in the office before, his colleagues only wore a suit jacket or even a shirt in winter, but now because the temperature in the room is relatively low, the staff in the office area wear more clothes than usual .
Citizens have also taken many energy-saving measures at home, such as letting two children share the bedroom, turning on an air conditioner for heating, or buying energy-saving household appliances and so on.
Takashi Uchiyama, deputy director of the Environmental Policy Division, Department of Resources and Environment, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo: The current rise in world oil prices and the increase in electricity consumption in the middle of winter may lead to a shortage of power supply, so the country calls on us to cooperate as much as possible before the end of March 2023. save electricity.
Many businesses are also looking for ways to save electricity.
The "Family Mart" convenience store has set up a special power-saving countermeasure project team, which is responsible for formulating various countermeasures related to power saving.
They require shops located in bustling business districts to reduce facade lighting.
The person in charge of the store said that they reduced the brightness of the store lighting by 60%, turned off some infrequently used appliances, and also turned off the lighting of the beverage refrigerator, and even turned off the refrigeration of the beverage refrigerator in the middle of the night when there were few customers. equipment.
Their goal is to reduce power consumption by around 3% year-on-year.
Experts: Renewable energy should be developed to save electricity
After the "311" Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Japan's power supply structure has undergone major changes. The supply of nuclear power, which previously accounted for 30%, has gradually dropped to about 10% currently, while thermal power has risen to about 70%. At the same time, Japan's dependence on international energy imports has further increased.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine that began in 2022 and the sharp drop in the exchange rate of the yen have not only led to higher prices for energy imported from the international market, but also exacerbated the uncertainty of supply. All walks of life in Japan have begun to worry about power issues.
Japanese economic analyst Takuro Morinaga believes that since urban residents have become accustomed to electric heating and have not set clear goals, calling for power saving may not achieve the expected results.
Takuro Morinaga, Professor of Economics at Dokkyo University in Japan: Especially in wealthy and densely populated places like Tokyo, everyone is used to heating with electricity, so calling for power saving will not have much effect.
Generally speaking, when calling for power saving, it is necessary to set target values, such as 5% or 10% power saving, but this time it is only to let everyone save power as much as possible, and no specific goals have been set.
Although the government has implemented measures to reward electricity saving, such as obtaining electricity-saving reward points that can be used for shopping, etc., according to statistics, less than 10% of the citizens participated.
According to a report by Japan's Jiji News Agency, in response to the rapid rise in electricity prices, the Japanese government has proposed to subsidize electricity prices from January 2023.
However, seven large power companies, including Tohoku Electric Power, applied to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan to increase household electricity costs by 30% to 40% on the grounds of rising fuel prices, which will lead to price increases significantly exceeding the subsidy amount.
Experts believe that the fundamental way to solve the problem of electricity consumption lies in the development of renewable energy.
Takuro Morinaga, Professor of Economics at Dokkyo University in Japan: Although the government said that appropriate subsidies will be given in January 2023, and the electricity bill may drop temporarily, the power company will increase the electricity bill even more. The high electricity bill in 2023 is the overall trend.
I think Japan can fully develop renewable energy, mainly solar energy, plus hydropower, wind power, geothermal power and so on.
(CCTV news client)