Japan's spot power price increased 2.4% from the previous day to 22.36 yen per kilowatt-hour on Wednesday, its highest since April 9, Bloomberg News reported.
The price increase stemmed from an increase in demand due to forecasts of warmer-than-usual weather as well as narrower fuel supplies due to the Middle East war, the report said.
Among Japan's areas, the power rate hit 23.29 yen per kilowatt-hour in Tohoku and 24.39 yen in Tokyo, according to the report.
The temperature in Tokyo could hit 31 degrees Celsius on Friday, significantly higher than normal, with the conditions expected to linger through late next week, the report cited weather agency Visalia as saying.
In response, the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators requested that TEPCO Power Grid carry out changes in maintenance outage times for Friday, the report said.
Japanese utilities have also adopted more coal power generation amid limited LNG supplies due to the Middle East conflict, with levels in the Kansai region reaching their peak since March on Tuesday, according to the report.
(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)