Kepco draws up bill for blackout contingencies

The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) said yesterday it is planning to introduce a new bill to regulate power consumption during emergencies.

This follows widespread blackouts that affected homes and businesses across the country last week, causing significant economic losses.

Korea reported a nationwide power outage on Sept. 15 as unseasonably hot temperatures hiked electricity demand at a time when energy authorities had reduced supply for scheduled maintenance work.

The resulting blackouts affected businesses, left people trapped in elevators and caused traffic jams as road signals failed.

In a bid to prevent similar incidents in the future, Kepco said it will introduce a new bill to control electricity consumption when demand might outstrip supply.

The utility firm said the new bill will require consumers to set voluntary power reduction targets, which could be enforced during an energy emergency.