Sales by 10 major power utilities in July dropped by 6.3 percent due to a decline in demand, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan has revealed.
But while efforts to cut down electricity use by households and the business sector are paying off, some say the numbers prove that last month's reactivation of two reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture may have been unnecessary.
"Electricity utilities may be opting to restart their nuclear reactors since they are cheaper than thermal power plants," Hideyuki Koyama, executive director of Mihama no Kai, which opposes Kepco's nuclear power use, told The Japan Times.