Korea's power sales dip 2.4% in Jan.-Nov. on coronavirus impact

Seoul at night / Gettyimagesbank

South Korea's electricity consumption fell more than 2 percent in the first 11 months of 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday.

Power sales in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 464,243 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the January-November period, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from state utility Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO).

Electricity sales are thus projected to decline for all of 2020 from a year earlier due to sluggish demand stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

It would mark the second straight on-year decline. Last year, South Korea's electricity consumption decreased on-year for the first time in 21 years.

Industrial electricity sales, often considered a barometer of industrial activity, shrank 4 percent on-year to 254,113 GWh in the 11-month period due to weaker exports and lower capacity utilization.

In contrast, household electricity consumption expanded 4.9 percent on-year to 69,915 GWh as more people stayed home due to social distancing and teleworking.

South Korea has been gripped by the coronavirus pandemic since late January last year, with infections reaching some 50,400 and the death toll totaling 1,125. (Yonhap)

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