Quake-hit Hokkaido may not have power fully restored for over a week english.kyodonews.net

The shutdown of a key thermal power plant may mean Hokkaido could see reduced electricity supply for over a week, a state minister said Thursday, following a powerful earthquake that rattled Japan's northernmost main island in the early morning.

With the coal-fired power plant that provides roughly half of Hokkaido's electricity offline, around 2.95 million households served by Hokkaido Electric Power Co. experienced blackouts.