By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff reporter
In the long hallway on the ninth floor of the Korea Post headquarters located in central Seoul where its head Namgung Min works, there are just two fluorescent lamps. People complain that they cannot even send cell phone messages because it is so dark.
Despite the rampant grumblings, Korea Post isn't showing any signs of changing because the government is going all out to cut down on energy consumption in the public sector.
Yet such efforts might not be enough to prevent power outages. The country suffers from perilously low electricity reserve margins several times during the hot summer.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) forecast Friday that Korea will consume more than 70 million kilowatts of electricity during peak hours this summer, up 11.8 percent from last year.
In comparison, the country's energy supply capacity increased by just 3.7 percent on a yearly basis to approximately 75 million kilowatts.
This means that electric power reserves could fall to a mere 5 million kilowatts.
"During peak times on hot days, the reserves are feared to fall below 2 million kilowatts if the country fails to find ways of curbing energy demand," an MKE official said.
"We worry that a heat wave may hit the country due to global warming. In this case, the country runs substantial risks of experiencing blackouts, which will affect many households and corporations."
There is another concern from the supply side that electricity generators might break down ― if a nuclear reactor generating 1.4 million kilowatts goes out of operation, the country could be in a big trouble.
Recently, a power plant in Incheon caught fire earlier this week causing consternation among bureaucrats.
In this climate, the Seoul administration and its power utilities are in emergency mode to slash electricity demand.
Instructed by President Lee Myung-bak earlier this month, the government decided to trim resource use by a total of 5 million tons of oil equivalent (TOE), up 25 percent from its previous goal.
Large discount chains and department stores will be subject to penalties should they lower their temperature below 26 degrees Celsius. The benchmark is higher for public institutes at 28 degrees Celsius.
During the day time in August between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., air conditioners should be turned off for around 10 minutes at large-sized business premises in series around the country.
Experts point out that people need to change their mindsets about energy conservation to savor the benefits of electricity.
