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Korea at risk for power shortage

[NEWS IN FOCUS] Electricity consumption peaked on Thursday
To save energy, Kepco advises people to reduce indoor temperatures from 20 degrees Celsius to 18 degrees.
December 18, 2010
JoongAng Daily





Korea is facing a state of emergency in its electricity supply as the cold weather is requiring families to consume more energy to keep warm.

According to the Korea Electric Power Corporation, the country’s electricity consumption so far this winter peaked on Thursday at 71.3 million kilowatts, which is the highest demand ever.

The previous record for the winter season from December to February was set in January this year when demand reached 68.9 million kilowatts. Power demand was also high in August during the summer season from June to August at 69.9 million kilowatts.

“The sudden cold snap caused power demand to reach its peak on Thursday, putting the country’s power supply at risk,” a Kepco official said, noting that it has devised measures to maintain supply-and-demand balance and will be equipped with enough power reserves in an emergency. Korea’s temperature fell to minus 11 degrees Celsius (12 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday morning, the lowest recorded so far this winter.

As part of its emergency prevention measures, the corporation saved up to 1.5 million kilowatts of electricity on Wednesday and Thursday, which allowed it to raise the country’s reserve power volume to 4.4 million kilowatts, or 6.2 percent of supply.

On those days, the corporation had offered incentives to families and industrial firms that reduced their power usage by more than 3,000 kilowatts of energy to decrease power consumption.

“To save energy, we advised our employees to reduce the indoor temperature from 20 degrees Celsius - which is the government’s maximum recommended level - to 18 degrees Celsius and to turn off the heat during peak hours - from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 5 to 7 p.m.,” the official said. “We are also asking all families and firms to reduce the volume of energy used in heating systems and participate in energy-saving measures.”

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy had warned last month that the country’s power consumption would hit an all-time high this winter, possibly recording up to 72.5 million kilowatts. This year, demand for electricity has increased 5.1 percent from the previous winter when total energy consumption was 68.9 million kilowatts.

“One of the ways that Korea can overcome the risk to energy supply and demand that it faces every summer and winter is to raise the price of electricity,” said a ministry official.

The government raised the price of electricity for homes and industry by up to 3.5 percent in August, but industry officials argue the price should be raised higher because they blame the excessive energy use on low electricity prices.

A recent report released by the state-run Korea Development Institute noted that the country’s energy usage is 1.7 times more than the average for member nations of the Organization for Economic and Cooperation Development.

While the average for OECD nations was 0.339 kilowatt hours per one dollar’s worth of GDP, Korea’s average was 0.580 kilowatt hours.

By Lee Eun-joo [angie@joongang.co.kr]