Let's Change Lifestyle to Save Energy
People have thought little about a power blackout, especially in wintertime. But this winter a power shortage may hit South Korea due to the unusually cold temperatures. The nation's electricity consumption is on a rapid upward march, setting records six times this month alone. Undoubtedly, the cold spell has ratcheted up electricity usage over the past several days. And more serious is that electricity demand might surpass its supply sometime next week if the cold snap persists.
According to the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), peak power use surged to an all-time high of 68.96 million kilowatts at noon Wednesday, 9 percent higher than last summer's top level of 63.21 million kilowatts. It marked the first time in 16 years that the wintertime peak has exceeded that of the summer season. The nation's power reserve rate fell to 6.9 percent or 4.75 million kilowatts. The rate was the lowest since 1994.
The government is in the process of taking emergency measures to avoid a power blackout. On Thursday, Knowledge Economy Minister Choi Kyung-hwan held a meeting with representatives of KEPCO and its five power generation subsidies to discuss ways of tackling the potential power shortage. The meeting came two days after he issued a statement to warn of a partial blackout and kick off a nationwide energy saving campaign. It is urgent to keep the soaring power demand in check by preventing overconsumption and waste of energy. Everyone is well aware that 96 percent of the nation's energy supply comes from imports. But it is disappointing that all players ― the government, businesses and households ― have been wasting it.
Thus, it is imperative to save energy and improve energy efficiency. President Lee Myung-bak has already appealed to officials and citizens to wear long underwear and lower room temperatures. But only a few have listened to him. Government employees and office workers usually keep their individual heaters beside their desks. Many people wear short sleeves at home due to the excessive heat.
It is somewhat belated to ban the use of individual heating devices at government buildings from this month. The government has also recommended that indoor temperatures should be maintained at below 19 degrees Celsius in winter, one degree lower than the present one. It has also decided to raise the minimum cooling temperature by one degree to 28 degrees in summer. Let's faithfully abide by the new guidelines as the energy saving initiative cannot succeed without people's active participation. This campaign is also pivotal to cutting greenhouse gas emissions that are blamed for global warming.
Raising energy efficiency in factories, buildings and homes is also important to prevent waste. Businesses must double their efforts to make products that require less energy consumption. It is also necessary to raise electricity prices, which are cheaper than the soaring costs of kerosene and city gas, to help reduce power consumption. Furthermore, the nation is required to change its energy-guzzling industrial and economic structure. More important is that people change their lifestyle to an eco-friendly one needing less energy.
