WorldTOKYO (Reuters) - After an earthquake knocked out power to 5.3 million people this week, Hokkaido Electric expects to restore service to most of them by the end of Friday, but experts say the island-wide outage highlights fundamental flaws in Japan’s power grid. Hokkaido Electric aims to have power restored to about 80 percent of the island’s households by the end of Friday, according to Japan industry minister Hiroshige Seko. Landslides caused by an earthquake are seen in Atsuma town, Hokkaido, northern Japan. With its only nuclear plant shut pending approval to restart under new safety guidelines imposed since the Fukushima meltdowns of 2011, Hokkaido Electric has been investing in a new gas-fired station and expanding the capacity of its connection to Honshu. “It is difficult to answer this question because the 2011 quake and yesterday’s quake are different situations,” he said.

Source: Sunday Times September 07, 2018 12:11 UTC