TOKYO: Ongoing concerns over a blackout in Tokyo were further raised on Thursday as a thermal power plant in northeast Japan was taken offline due to a technical glitch, as the mercury in the heatwave-hit capital soared to levels not seen in June in almost 150 years.
The operator of the Nakoso coal- and oil-fired power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, Joban Joint Power Co., said at around 3:00 a.m. local time the plant’s No. 9 unit was shut down after a ventilator was found to be vibrating.
The plants operator said it aims to bring the plant back online and will restart supplying power to its service area, which covers a sizable expanse of eastern Japan including Tokyo, by Thursday evening.
Japan’s industry ministry said there was no imminent risk of a blackout even as demand for power in Tokyo surged as temperatures hit 36.4 degrees Celsius, the highest on record for June since 1875 when record-keeping began, Japan’s weather agency said.
