Adaptation to electricity crisis Businesses in the 2011 Great East Japan triple disaster.pdf.pdf

Energy Policy 68 (2014) 447–457
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Energy Policy
journal homepage: ate/enpol
Adaptation to electricity crisis: Businesses in the 2011 Great East Japan
triple disaster
Toshio Fujimi a,n, Stephanie E. Chang b,1
a Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto, Japan
b School munity and Regional Planning (SCARP) and Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability (IRES), University of British Columbia,
242-1933 West Mall, Vancouver, Canada BC V6T 1Z2
HIGHLIGHTS
 The electricity crisis due to the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake led the private sector to curtail electricity use substantially.
 Behavioral adaptations such as reducing illumination and air conditioning were by far the mon responses.
 panies were more likely to implement schedule adaptations than panies.
 Certain types of adaptations persisted for over a year, especially illumination and air-conditioning reduction, and energy-efficient device installation.
article info abstract
Article history: Electricity crises can spur improvements in electricity conservation that would be unachievable under
Received 23 August 2013 normal circumstances. This paper investigates how businesses adapted to electricity shortages following
Received in revised form the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. In summer 2011,
14 November 2013 mandatory and voluntary electricity conservation measures affected nearly all of Japan, and peak hour
Accepted 10 December 2013
electricity consumption was reduced by a remarkable 18% in the Tokyo region. Using statistical data from
Available online 10 February 2014
14 business surveys conducted in 2011 and 2012, this paper identifies patterns with regard to type of
Keywords: adaptation, conservation requirements, economic sector, and timeframe. Results indicate that behavioral
Electricity conservation adaptations (., reduction of i