SINGAPORE (Jan 13): Asian utilities are snapping up prompt supplies of fuel oil — an emergency backstop for natural gas — as power demand surges across the region due to a winter freeze. Power generators in Japan such as Tohoku Electric Power Co recently bought several cargoes of low-sulfur fuel oil for the purpose of direct burning, said traders who asked not to be identified. These supplies can be used in oil-fired power plants, which are typically left in an idled state and utilized only when gas-fed facilities have been maximized.