Japan fighting to avoid mass power cuts after earthquake last week

Japan is scrambling to keep the lights on in Tokyo on Tuesday, as freezing temperatures and power plant outages after last week’s earthquake put the nation’s capital at risk of blackouts.

The situation across the Tokyo area is “extremely tight,” and there could be partial power outages if the supply shortfall continues, according to an official at Tokyo Electric Power Co., who added that there currently aren’t plans for rolling blackouts. The metropolis’ power supply is expected to fall short of demand in the evening, the country’s trade ministry warned.

The ministry called for further power conservation efforts, saying that it might need to make stronger requests for users depending on the situation during the day. Households and businesses need to reduce power consumption as much as possibe, Trade Minister Koichi Hagiuda said earlier, after the government issued its first-ever electricity supply alert for the Tokyo area.