TOKYO, July 18, 2014 – Rakuten Research, Inc. has carried out an internet survey about power saving in the summer in Japan. The survey was carried out over three days from July 9 - 11, 2014, with 1,000 men and women aged between 20 and 69 selected from monitors registered with Rakuten Research (approximately 2.3 million people) around Japan.
July 18, 2014
- Rakuten Research, Inc.
Rakuten Research Carries Out Survey on
Summer Power Saving
- Seniors most interested in electricity market liberalization
as high level of power saving awareness maintained -
as high level of power saving awareness maintained -
Overview of the Survey Results
Around 60% of respondents are concerned about electricity shortages this summer in the absence of nuclear power generation. Generally, the older the respondent, the greater the degree of concern.
This is the first summer that all nuclear plants have been offline since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Asked whether they were aware of concerns that power supplies might be inadequate due to the absence of nuclear generation, 57.2% replied that they were aware. By age group, 70.0% of those in their 60s said they were aware, while just 42.5% of those in their 20s said they were aware. The level of interest in the issue of supply shortfalls appears to rise with age.
Low interest in electricity deregulation among young people, with over 50% of those in their 20s replying they “did not know”
Asked whether they knew that the electricity market would be deregulated in 2016, broadening choices in power use and enabling consumers to buy power from electric utilities other than their regional power company, 60.5% replied that they did.
By age group, 75.5% of those in their 60s said they knew, while 46% of those in their 20s said they knew. Clearly, there is a lower level of interest in electricity deregulation among the young.
Electricity conservation among those in their 20s and 30s: over half said they would “reduce their power usage to the minimum” if their bill were to rise by 500 yen
A majority of those in their 20s (54.0%) and 30s (53.0%) said that they would “reduce their power use to a minimum” if their monthly power bill were to rise by 500 yen as a result of a higher tariff during summer electricity consumption peak hours (1:00 P.M to 4:00 P.M). At the other end of the spectrum, around a third of those in their 50s (31.5%) and 60s (34.0%) said they would do this.
The survey and results can be found at the following site (Japanese only):
https://research.rakuten.co.jp/report/20140718/