Gov't to cut peak time energy use

By Kim Tae-jong

The government Friday unveiled a package of power saving measures, including an up to 20 percent cut in the use of electricity at government organizations in a desperate effort to prevent possible power blackouts during summer.

Doubts have been raised as to how effective the power saving campaign will be or if it will help solve the problem ahead of the summer peak season.

The energy saving campaign is part of a set of measures announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to prevent potential blackouts.

They came hurriedly after two nuclear reactors were Tuesday suspended from operation because they were built with faulty components.

Under the measures, the ministry said government organizations will cut down their consumption of electricity by 15 percent from the same month last year and more than 20 percent during peak hours.

To achieve that, they will turn off half their lights and set the lowest temperature limit of air conditioners at 28 degree Celsius, and turn off electric gadgets at times of emergency.

It also plans to encourage the public and companies to save power as much as possible, promising incentives for that.

It will also expand the time-based electricity rate system that charges more for the use of power during peak hours to encourage customers to use electricity during off-peak hours.

During peak hours, the interval between subway trains will be extended from one to three minutes.

“The power shortage issue will be tackled next year thanks to the completion of new power plants. So, we will encourage people to actively participate in the energy saving campaign this summer,” an official from the ministry said.

The ministry expects the maximum power demand to reach 78.7 million kilowatts this summer, up from 77.27 kilowatts last year. The power supply is expected to drop to 76.72 kilowatts from 77.08 kilowatts and the power reserve cannot cope with differences in demands and supplies.

The power shortage has emerged as a major headache, as the government had to recently suspend the operation of two more nuclear reactors ― the Shin-Kori Reactor 2 in Busan and Shin-Wolsong Reactor 1 in North Gyeongsang Province ― after discovering that substandard components were used in them.

The decision has increased the number of nuclear reactors out of action to 11, meaning almost half of existing reactors cannot generate electricity, even though they account for 30 percent of the nation’s total electricity supply.

The prosecution has launched a special task force to investigate suppliers of faulty components used in the two reactors with fraudulent quality certificates.

On Tuesday night, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won suddenly cancelled his plan to make a public announcement scheduled for the following day.

The abrupt cancellation, critics said, was because the timing is not good for him to call for participation in nationwide power saving campaigns as the government is under criticism for its poor management of the reactors.