The Japanese government is to ask firms and households in much of central and western Japan to cut electricity use by up to 20 percent, reports said Sunday as the country faces possible summer blackouts. A government panel expects Kansai Electric Power Co., the supplier for the mid-western region including the commercial hubs of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, will be 14.9 percent short of projected peak demand in August.
In an attempt to avoid blackouts the government plans to seek around a 20 percent cut in power consumption in the Kansai area compared to 2010 levels, the Asahi Shimbun and the Mainichi Shimbun dailies said. The often sweltering summer is Japan's peak period for electricity use as air conditioning gets cranked up.