Quake-hit Hokkaido may not have power fully restored for over a week

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.Efforts to restart the Tomatoatsuma power station have been hampered by infrastructure damage and a fire at the plant after the magnitude 6.7 quake rocked Hokkaido at …READ FULL ARTICLE