Tokyo government abandons plan to build 1 giga-watt gas-fired power plant

TOKYO - Tokyo's local government has abandoned plans to build a 1 gigawatt gas-fired power plant as there are no longer severe power shortages like those following a massive earthquake and nuclear disaster in 2011.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government began considering building the facility, possibly in the Tokyo Bay area, in August 2011 in a bid to ease energy shortages following the quake as more and more nuclear reactors stopped operating amid safety fears and the country faced difficulty bridging the gap with just fossil fuel.

"This summer, the areas around Tokyo did not experience power shortages despite concerns they may, and circumstances have changed dramatically from right after the earthquake," Tokyo governor Naoki Inose told the metropolitan assembly on Wednesday.

But Tokyo's government is investing in a project to build a smaller 100-megawatt gas-fired power plant and will back Tokyo Electric Power Co in replacing its ageing fossil fuel-fired plants to secure stable power supplies, Inose added.