Electricity consumption dipped 5.4 percent in August from a year earlier because lower-than-average temperatures cut demand.
The country's power consumption dropped to 91.48 billion kwh, according to data released by the Electric Power System Council of Japan, which oversees grids throughout the country. Electricity demand typically peaks in August as users turn on air conditioners to stave off heat at homes and offices.
Demand slipped 7.3 percent in Tokyo and the surrounding region, supplied mainly by Tokyo Electric Power Co. Other areas, except for Okinawa, where data weren't available, posted declines of more than 3 percent, because of heavy rain and cooler weather throughout northern and western Japan.
"Consumption, especially from households, was low in August," said Hirofumi Kawachi, an energy analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co.