Friday July 13, 2007

Japan homeowners swapping oil for electricity

peakoil.com -> reuters.com :

A rush by Japanese homeowners to convert their houses to run solely on electricity has put them in the vanguard of efforts to cut back on oil use, but also risks driving up coal and gas imports if nuclear generators falter. Utilities such as Asia's biggest Tokyo Electric Power Co. have seized on high fuel prices and concerns over gas safety to push the idea of the "all-electric home" that requires no oil for heating or gas for cooking or hot water. Amid an advertising blitz that promotes a savings of one-third on energy bills, the number of "all-electric houses" in Japan has more than doubled in the last three years to around 2 million, or about 4% of all households.

"Over the next 10 years, Japanese oil demand will lose 1 million barrels per day," Fereidun Fesharaki, Chairman and CEO of consultants FACTS Global Energy, said recently. That contraction is the result of many factors, including a shrinking population and more fuel-efficient cars. But analysts say a part is shifting demand from households, which burn as much as 1 million bpd of kerosene in the winter and use about half as much liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), accounting for up to a quarter of the country's total oil demand.

The flip side of the trend is continued steady growth in demand for power. To accommodate the rise, Tokyo hopes to lift the share of nuclear power, now nearly one-third of all its electricity, and keep a lid on coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG), of which Japan is the world's biggest importer. But if generators fail to keep pace with demand during peak periods, or safety concerns force more nuclear plants to shut, the increased reliance on electricity could force utilities to burn more fuel oil, trading one type of oil demand for another.

- The future is electric. It has to be, since the usual burning stuff (oil, gas) is getting harder to find.

(2007-07-13 13:02:59 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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