Power-Saving Project Kicks Off! | Jiro Kokuryo (Dean, Faculty of Policy Management)

2011.05.09

Summer is approaching amid concerns about the power supply. While it is still unclear how things will unfold, the government has already requested that large-scale users, including universities, significantly cut their electricity consumption. We must make this contribution whether or not such a request is made.

The question is how to do it, and I believe there are broadly two approaches. One is a method similar to a campus-wide rolling blackout, where we decide in advance which curricula, events, and buildings to shut down. In short, if we decide to stop classes now and start the summer vacation early, we can certainly reduce our electricity consumption significantly.

However, I do not want to adopt this method unless we are forced into a situation where we have no other choice (which is a possibility). Some may wonder, "SFC delayed the start of classes, so why is it against moving up the summer vacation?" But when we delayed the start of the new semester, it was an emergency response that considered our students engaged in social contribution activities that were only possible (and necessary) under the state of emergency, the international students who were hesitant to come to Japan, the situation where servers and even toilets were completely unusable due to rolling blackouts, and the significant reduction in bus services due to fuel shortages. This time, it is not a matter of imminent physical danger. There is a chance we could hold classes as usual if we have a cool summer, and the power supply and demand situation might ease. Above all, this is a challenge for the energy-saving society that may continue for decades to come. For SFC, which advocates for problem discovery and resolution through the fusion of arts and sciences, simply giving up here would be too frustrating.

Therefore, the other approach I want to adopt is a method that leverages SFC's intellectual capabilities and community solidarity to achieve significant power savings by summer without reducing our intellectual activities.

I believe the secret to making this method successful is the "fusion of information sharing and autonomous initiatives." In other words, it is a method where everyone on campus grasps the situation in real time and takes action to save the campus. We have already begun creating a system to make the campus's main power consumption "visible" to everyone in real time. In addition, we are considering building a system that monitors various locations on campus to visualize where power is being saved, where the problems are, and so on. By also monitoring the power situation in the Tokyo metropolitan area and sharing real-time updates via Twitter on truly critical days, I expect that spontaneous actions will arise in various places, such as switching off unnecessary equipment. I think this is a policy that would be difficult to adopt on a campus where many faculties coexist and flexible action is hard to take (so I have no intention of calling on other campuses to do the same—at least not this year). But for the Faculty of Policy Management, the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, and the Graduate School of Media and Governance, which have always been managed as an integrated unit, it should be possible to steer our course while keeping an eye on the weather and the status of power plants.

I also believe that sharing our policy (as this article aims to do) is important. I hope that everyone will share the campus's perspective and devise and implement power-saving measures that fully utilize our research outcomes, and I want to listen to various proposals. I imagine there will be technical solutions as well as social solutions, such as organizing voluntary initiatives.

We must also "anticipate" the possibility that even this will not be enough. It is not out of the question that on a sweltering day, a painful decision might be made to pull the main plug (turn off the central switch for the air conditioning...), leading to a sudden inability to continue classes (I wonder if I'll be the one to do it... I'd hate that, sigh). Even in that case, I plan to prepare air-conditioned rooms to prevent students from suffering from heatstroke. I also think we must ensure that students are not disadvantaged in terms of grades or other aspects at such times. Of course, to prevent such a situation, I want to notify everyone and urge them to take action when the time comes. If we can visualize who contributed and how much, we will also know who the heroes are when we are saved.

I want to see this as an opportunity to turn a disaster into a driving force for great progress. The challenge of creating a prosperous society while curbing energy consumption is a major problem that the world must solve in the future. Even if we are in a tight spot, succeeding in creating innovation here will lead to a contribution to the world.

While relaxing the campus dress code within the bounds of public order and morals, and even asking for your forgiveness as the dean wanders around in casual attire (an aloha shirt?), I am determined to work hard to maintain our intellectual productivity, and I ask for everyone's cooperation.

(Posted on: 2011/05/09)