JAPAN TO REVISE LONG-TERM ENERGY DEMAND DOWNWARDS
The Ministry of International Trade and
Industry (MITI) will revise its long-term energy supply/demand
outlook by August to meet a forecast downtrend in Japanese
energy demand, ministry officials said.
    MITI is expected to lower the projection for primary energy
supplies in the year 2000 to 550 mln kilolitres (kl) from 600
mln, they said.
    The decision follows the emergence of structural changes in
Japanese industry following the rise in the value of the yen
and a decline in domestic electric power demand.
    MITI is planning to work out a revised energy supply/demand
outlook through deliberations of committee meetings of the
Agency of Natural Resources and Energy, the officials said.
    They said MITI will also review the breakdown of energy
supply sources, including oil, nuclear, coal and natural gas.
    Nuclear energy provided the bulk of Japan's electric power
in the fiscal year ended March 31, supplying an estimated 27
pct on a kilowatt/hour basis, followed by oil (23 pct) and
liquefied natural gas (21 pct), they noted.
 REUTER
