Japan confident of avoiding summer power cuts sans nuke plants

The government of Japan announced that the country will avoid power cuts this summer even without nuclear power.

Trade Minister Yukio Edano said there was a good chance of coping without such mandatory cuts on electricity usage even if all the reactors were shut.

"We don't know how much electricity will be available this summer because it depends on the separate matter of reaching a conclusion about safety concerns," said Edano.

"We would have to call for conservation of electricity, but there's an excellent chance (the power lost if all nuclear plants are shut this summer) can be overcome without placing curbs on electricity consumption," he added.

Only three of the nation's 54 reactors remain in use and all are due to go off-line by the spring, despite government efforts to regain public trust in the industry.

The loss of nuclear power has raised fears of forced power rationing and temporary blackouts in the summer peak demand period, when air conditioning puts extra strains on supply.

The government, worried about a power crunch, is pushing for reactors to resume operations, even as it reviews the role of nuclear power in the resource-poor country's energy mix in a new mid- to long-term programme to be decided in coming months.

A tough choice faces many local governments that host nuclear power plants -- not allowing their restarts may help soothe safety concerns but the facilities also create employment and budget revenue.

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Tags: power cuts, nuclear offline, nuclear reactors, nuclear power, nuclear safety, power conservation