nuclear-news

Japan’s consumers to be rewarded for reducing use of electricity

Kepco to pay customers to switch off in effort to reduce demand Ft.com 15 July 14 By Jonathan Soble in Tokyo  On hot days this summer, some Japanese electricity customers will begin receiving an unusual offer from their energy supplier: a de facto bribe to get them out of the house and away from their air conditioners.

Kansai Electric Power, a utility in western Japan that is struggling to meet demand as a result of the post-Fukushima shutdown of nuclear plants across the country, has announced the experimental reward programme for about 800,000 customers whose homes are equipped with smart meters that monitor usage.

Utilities worldwide have long used financial incentives to induce customers to spread electricity consumption more evenly throughout the day, typically by charging different rates for daytime and night-time use. But Kepco, as the company is known, is taking the idea a step further: it plans to pay customers not to use electricity during peak daytime hours……….

Utilities have avoided outages thanks to nationwide power-saving campaigns – many office air conditioners are set to a far from chilly 28C – but supply is tight nonetheless……….in the aftermath of Fukushima much of the public remains wary of restarting plants: polls show a majority favour eliminating nuclear power for good. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5670af9e-0b22-11e4-9e55-00144feabdc0.html#axzz37ghBiVwG

July 16, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | ENERGY, Japan