The president of Tokyo Electric Power Company has apologized for an extensive blackout that struck Tokyo on Wednesday.
President Naomi Hirose visited the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and met with Minister Hiroshige Seko on Thursday.
Power transmission cables at a TEPCO facility just outside Tokyo caught fire and caused the blackout that affected more than 580,000 households.
Hirose said the incident caused trouble to a great number of people. He announced that his company will launch emergency inspections of cables.
Seko pointed out that TEPCO failed to hold a news conference in a timely fashion and called for better communication from the company.
He also said his ministry finds it problematic that the power company only visually inspected the cables once a year even though they were in use for more than 35 years.
The minister called on TEPCO to thoroughly investigate the cause of the fire and to submit a report on preventive measures.
The TEPCO president pledged to get to the bottom of the incident and make every effort to fully disclose the outcome of the investigation.
Source and image: NHK
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