Heat wave causes electricity demand in Korea to surge

Amid a heat wave alert issued nationwide, electricity consumption in Korea skyrocketed Wednesday, with the power reserve capacity temporarily falling to below 4 million kilowatts.

In response, the government said it will resume operation of the Gori-1 nuclear reactor early next month to meet power demand.

According to electricity authorities, the electricity reserve capacity plunged to 3.76 million kilowatts at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday. Supply capacity was fixed at 76.91 million kilowatts while maximum demand surged to 73.15 million kilowatts.

Authorities immediately urged companies to manage demand, and reserve power recovered to the normal level of 4 million kilowatts. They avoided issuing a "security alarm" issued when the reserve capacity of more than 3 million kilowatts and under 4 million kilowatts is maintained for 20 minutes, or when the instantaneous reserve capacity falls to below 3.5 million kilowatts.

Nam Ho-ki, CEO of Korea Power Exchange, told Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Seok-woo, who was visiting the state-run supervisor, "Due to the deadly heat wave, the reserve power capacity could drop below 3 million kilowatts at some point until Friday, and the situation could worsen after mid-August." Nam also urged Hong to resume operation of the Gori-1 power plant.

Hong said, "Resumption has been delayed due to communication problems with Gori residents, but we must normalize operations at least by Aug. 2 or 3 to be prepared for a potential power crisis after Aug. 10," hinting at resuming operations at the nuclear reactor.

The Korea Meteorological Administration issued a heat wave alert early Wednesday for Seoul, Busan and Daejeon, the first for Seoul this summer. Southern areas including Ulsan, Naju of South Jeolla Province and Miryang of South Gyeongsang Province also issued heat wave warnings, and special warnings were issued nationwide excluding Gangwon Province, mountainous areas in North Jeolla Province, and certain coastal areas. Most areas showed a discomfort index of more than 80, meaning high humidity along with high temperatures.

The weather agency expects the Korean Peninsula to be influenced by hot and humid air mass and that the heat wave will continue for a considerable while. The development of North Pacific anticyclone system will affect the country early next month to get the heat wave to peak.

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