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S. Korea urges nation to cut electricity use
제목 없음
South Korea urged its people Friday to reduce electricity consumption as a
recent surge in demand threatens its power supply and raises blackout
fears.
The call comes as power use has been fast rising amid a heat wave and robust economic activity. The country's maximum power demand reached 70.96 million kilowatts on Monday, breaching last year's 69.89 million kilowatts. It further rose to 71.30 million kilowatts the following day.
Announcing a statement, Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Joong-kyung said a surge in use of electricity is inevitable due to the economic recovery, but said the problem is households' increasing use of electricity.
"One of the major causes of the recent spike in power use is the rise in use of electricity by households and buildings for air conditioning," Choi said. "A 20 percent cut in the use of air conditioners and fans (in all households and buildings) will save 3 million kilowatts of electricity."
Choi urged people to limit their use of electricity by maintaining a room temperature of 26 degrees Celsius or higher in their homes and offices and to minimize use of air conditioners and fans during peak hours.
The five-point statement also advised people to turn off any unnecessary lights and to increase their use of public transportation to cut the country's overall use of energy.
"Energy conditions are not so favorable to us this summer, but we are confident we will overcome any problems if all our citizens combine their efforts," it said.
Choi said this year's maximum power use is expected to reach a record high of 73.14 million kilowatts in the second week of August, bringing down the country's electricity reserve rate to less than 5.6 percent of its total supply capabilities, far below the 7 percent level considered the safe margin and also the 6.4 percent reached last year.
Once the reserve rate falls below 4 percent, the country has to take emergency measures to avoid a nationwide blackout, which could take hours, days or even weeks to remedy, according to ministry officials. Such measures would include cutting off electricity to major factories and buildings.
Date
2011.07.22
The call comes as power use has been fast rising amid a heat wave and robust economic activity. The country's maximum power demand reached 70.96 million kilowatts on Monday, breaching last year's 69.89 million kilowatts. It further rose to 71.30 million kilowatts the following day.
Announcing a statement, Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Joong-kyung said a surge in use of electricity is inevitable due to the economic recovery, but said the problem is households' increasing use of electricity.
"One of the major causes of the recent spike in power use is the rise in use of electricity by households and buildings for air conditioning," Choi said. "A 20 percent cut in the use of air conditioners and fans (in all households and buildings) will save 3 million kilowatts of electricity."
Choi urged people to limit their use of electricity by maintaining a room temperature of 26 degrees Celsius or higher in their homes and offices and to minimize use of air conditioners and fans during peak hours.
The five-point statement also advised people to turn off any unnecessary lights and to increase their use of public transportation to cut the country's overall use of energy.
"Energy conditions are not so favorable to us this summer, but we are confident we will overcome any problems if all our citizens combine their efforts," it said.
Choi said this year's maximum power use is expected to reach a record high of 73.14 million kilowatts in the second week of August, bringing down the country's electricity reserve rate to less than 5.6 percent of its total supply capabilities, far below the 7 percent level considered the safe margin and also the 6.4 percent reached last year.
Once the reserve rate falls below 4 percent, the country has to take emergency measures to avoid a nationwide blackout, which could take hours, days or even weeks to remedy, according to ministry officials. Such measures would include cutting off electricity to major factories and buildings.
Source: Yonhap News (July 22, 2011)