Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the world's biggest private power company, implemented the emergency guidelines for the first time in 17 years, TEPCO spokesman Masayuki Yamato said.

Under the plan, TEPCO revived a hydraulic power plant north of Tokyo, which has been suspended by authorities as a penalty over the company falsifying documents.

It also requested 23 of its major customers, mostly chemical and nonferrous metal factories, to curb the use of electricity in line with clauses in their contracts.

The company separately launched a campaign with television commercials, handouts and its own websites to call on residents and companies to join energy saving efforts.

"We have decided to take the measure as electricity demand is expected to be this year's high for the second straight day today," Yamato said.

One client, chemical maker Showa Denko, suspended production at a factory for hours, public broadcaster NHK said.

Power demand in the world's second largest economy hit a record high of 3.42 billion kilowatts on Wednesday, an electric industry association said, compiling data from Japan's 10 electric power firms.

With the measures, TEPCO alone's total power supply capacity expanded by some two percent to 64 million kilowatts Wednesday, barely surpassing the maximum electricity demand of the day, 61.5 million kilowatts at 3:00 pm.

Elsewhere, the Japan Department Stores Association asked 31 department store companies which receive power from TEPCO to make further efforts to save electricity, an official at the association said.

It recommended measures such as more efficient use of air conditioners and turning off lights during lunch breaks.

Temperatures last week hit an all-time high of 40.9 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of Japan. Demand is soaring this week as factories and offices resume operation following summer holidays.

The temperature in Tokyo went as high as 37.0 degrees (98.6 Fahrenheit) Wednesday and rose to 38.5 degrees (101.3 Fahrenheit) in Gunma, north of Tokyo.

At least 60 people, most of them elderly, have died this summer due to the heat wave, according to media tallies.

Newspapers on Wednesday also splashed the picture of a 17-year-old lesser panda that died after suffering heat stroke at a zoo in suburban Tokyo.

An earthquake last month shut down the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the world's largest nuclear facility which supplies 10 percent of TEPCO's electricity.

The giant facility northwest of Tokyo caught fire and leaked a small amount of radiation following a powerful earthquake on July 16, which killed 11 people in unrelated incidents.

Japanese nuclear authorities expect the plant to be offline for about a year for safety checks, although the UN International Atomic Energy Agency said last week the plant had no major safety problems.

Despite its propensity for earthquakes, Japan relies on nuclear plants for nearly one-third of its power needs as it has virtually no natural energy resources.

In one novel solution, the agriculture ministry said Wednesday it would launch research into ways to turn into biofuel some of the millions of chopsticks that go discarded in Japan each year.

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