Power outages drive Tokyo elite to home backup batteries

With domestic electricity supplies likely to continue to be an issue in the Tokyo area for months to come, one electronics retailer has begun offering heavy-duty home backup batteries to customers worried about power outages.

Yamada Denki says it has two kinds of battery -- a 1kWh model for ¥800,000 and a 2.5kWh version that will sell for ¥1.8 million, or the equivalent of around US$21,000.

The smaller battery can be charged from the mains in three hours and will power a mid-sized refrigerator for five hours. Still, we imagine anyone buying such a backup has more to worry about than their chilled Champagne getting a little warm.

Sony’s got game

In other power-related news, Sony says its Tokyo-area employees will be changing their working hours and getting a two-week vacation to cut down on electricity consumption.

The company plans to institute daylight saving time in its working schedule to get staff at their desks earlier, taking advantage of bright summer mornings.

It also intends to give employees two weeks off during the summer, again to cut down on power usage in its extensive Tokyo facilities.

The power crisis has been sparked by the inability of Kanto supplier Tepco to guarantee sufficient electricity supplies over the summer while problems continue at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.