Japan's electric utilities boost imports by 39%

Japan’s power utilities saw their LNG imports skyrocket by 39% in January as nuclear power capacity remained largely offline.

The Federation of Electric Power Companies reported that its members brought in 5.19 million tonnes last month, compared to 3.73 million in January 2010.

LNG consumption came in at 5.23 million tonnes, a 27.1% increase.

The spike comes as nuclear power plants across the country remain largely idle following last year’s earthquake and resulting incident at the Fukushima Daiichi power station.

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