The power grid of "Kushidango"

While sandwiches are a typical one-handed fast food in the West, Japan also has a food culture known as "kushidango" (skewered dumplings). While each individual dumpling is small, connecting multiple dumplings on a thin bamboo skewer provides a certain level of satisfaction. The same can be said for Japan's power grid. Japan has nine power companies spanning the archipelago, each of which is self-sufficient in its own electricity supply. Demand often exceeds supply in the Kanto and Osaka areas, home to many urban areas. Conversely, Hokkaido and Kyushu, ideally suited to renewable energy, often have surplus electricity. To resolve this power imbalance, power is exchanged between areas, but the limited capacity of the interconnecting lines prevents sufficient transmission. The root cause of these bottlenecks is the "kushidango" power grid, which can be translated as a lack of interconnection capacity. While physically expanding interconnection lines would be an effective solution, this would require years and significant investment. Therefore, in recent years, technologies to digitally utilize available capacity have been gaining attention.