Nuclear carelessness peaks

2 reactor malfunctions occurred in a week

By Kim Tae-gyu

Worries of blackouts are looming large after recent shutdowns at nuclear power plants when a recent cold spell has been jacking up demand for electricity.

Additionally, the problems are feared to undermine Korea’s image as a leading exporter of nuclear technology, a hard-earned reputation gained after reaching an $18.6 billion contract with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) two years ago.

The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) said Thursday that the country has seen malfunctions at nuclear reactors twice this week alone. For 2011 to date there have been seven incidents, up more than three-fold from just two last year.

On Tuesday, a reactor was suspended due to a problem with its steam turbines in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province and a similar stoppage occurred Wednesday in Gori, South Gyeongsang Province.

As a result, up to six reactors out of the overall 21 in operation have suffered a standstill at least once this year, thus generating concerns about the country’s capacity to meet rising demand for electricity.

``Nuclear plants account for about a third of Korea’s power production. If their operations continue to show some jitters, the nation may face a power outage this winter,’’ said a Seoul analyst.

``The thing is that the breakdown of nuclear reactors can happen again any time in consideration of wear and tear ― both the Uljin and Gori reactors were commissioned more than two decades ago.’’

Electricity reserves fell to 6.2 million kilowatts Wednesday, less than 9 percent of overall capacity and the figure went down further Thursday, approaching the critical 4 million kilowatt level.

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy, which is in charge of energy policy, is scrambling hard after the back-to-back incidents with Minister Hong Suk-woo promising to have all nuclear power plants checked.

The Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), the state-backed utility, vowed to secure an additional 1 million kilowatts in electricity reserves through a set of measures including asking energy-hungry businesses to stop operating parts of their facilities during peak hours.

But concerns about possible blackouts keep surfacing because the country has already faced an outage of electricity this year no matter how brief it was.

On Sept. 15 this year, Korea experienced a rolling blackout across the country as energy consumption shot up due to an unexpected heat wave, which is rare in mid-September.

Triggered without any prior notification, the stoppage ended up resulting in substantial losses for companies as well as a host of inconveniences for citizens ― some of them were stuck in elevators.

The unprecedented power cut also created worries that similar incidents could take place this winter because people tend to use more electricity than they do in the summer.

Power outages are not the only glitches ― the repeated malfunction of nuclear plants may cost the country’s image as a nuclear powerhouse garnered after the UAE deal in late 2009 under which KEPCO will build four nuclear reactors in the Gulf nation by 2020.

Taking advantage of the brand power, Korea has attempted to snare more contracts with other countries. But observers worry that the halting of local reactors might prompt potential foreign buyers to suspect the technological clout of the Korean system.