The 2011 Japan Power Crisis
On 11 March 2011, Tokyo and Tohoku areas, Japan: The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami cut the supply of eastern Japan's utilities, forcing rolling blackouts that March and a national saving drive that summer.
Key Facts
- The Great East Japan Earthquake struck on 11 March 2011.
- After the quake, eastern Japan ran rolling blackouts on ten weekdays between 14 and 28 March 2011.
- Summer 2011 brought a 15% demand reduction target in the Tokyo and Tohoku areas.
- Peak demand fell 18.0% in the Tokyo area and 15.8% in Tohoku.
What Happened
The Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami struck on 11 March 2011. The four nuclear power stations nearest the epicentre, with 14 reactors between them, were all affected, and at Fukushima Daiichi the earthquake cut off site power and the tsunami disabled the emergency generators, so all cooling was lost. The loss of that supply left the Tokyo and Tohoku utilities short of electricity.
Planned rolling blackouts were applied in the two utility areas on ten weekdays between 14 and 28 March, and in principle no more were applied from 8 April. The government called them an unavoidable urgent measure that disrupted people's daily living and industrial activity.
Summer was the next test. The government set a 15% demand reduction target for large users, small users and households in the two areas until 30 September, and legally restricted electricity use by customers contracting for 500 kW or more. The reserve rate, a measure of how far supply capacity exceeds demand, was minus 10.3% in the Tokyo Electric area and minus 7.4% in Tohoku, where at least 3% is normally required. Peak demand fell by 18.0% in the Tokyo area and 15.8% in Tohoku, helped by a relatively cool summer, beating the target.
Cause
Earthquake and tsunami damage that took nuclear plants in eastern Japan out of service and left supply below demand
Researched independently from public reporting, not from this site's own data. Source: Government of Japan, National Policy Unit.
Related
Cite this page
World Power Monitor. (2011). The 2011 Japan Power Crisis: What Happened and Why. https://worldpowermonitor.com/grid-events/japan-power-crisis-2011/
World Power Monitor. The 2011 Japan Power Crisis: What Happened and Why. Data as of 2011-03-11. https://worldpowermonitor.com/grid-events/japan-power-crisis-2011/
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title = {{The 2011 Japan Power Crisis: What Happened and Why}},
author = {{World Power Monitor}},
year = {2011},
note = {Data as of 2011-03-11.},
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