Electricity reserve margin declines as heatwave continues

Economy

Published: 10 Jul. 2022, 16:24 Updated: 11 Jul. 2022, 12:32

Electricity reserve margin declines as heatwave continues

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang, center, speaks during a visit to the Korea Mainland Power’s Seoul branch in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Korea's electricity reserve margin is declining as an earlier-than-expected heat wave continues to blanket the country.

Demand for electricity reached a record high of 92,990 megawatts on Thursday, the highest in three years since 92,478 megawatts on July 24 in 2018.

The increase in demand led the electricity reserve margin to fall to 7.2 percent on the same day. The reserve margin is the amount of electricity being generated that is not being used. Electricity supply is considered stable when the reserve margin is above 10 percent.

Korea Power Exchange cited high temperatures and humidity as the reasons for the increase in demand for electricity. It also mentioned reduced solar energy output due to cloudy weather.

With the hot weather projected to continue, Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang visited the Korea Midland Power’s Seoul branch in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Sunday, to check on the operation of the key power facility.

“Supply and demand of electricity should be strictly managed this year centered on the Korea Power Exchange, as the heat wave arrived earlier than had been expected,” said Lee. “Please make sure to well manage facilities to prevent the malfunctions of any power plants or facilities for transmission and transformation of electric power.”

Two days earlier, the Trade, Industry and Energy’s 2nd Vice Minister Park Il-joon paid a visit to a Kori nuclear power plant in Busan. Park highlighted the need for the stable operation of the power plant as “this summer, demand for electricity is greater than any other year.”

Operation of Kori 2 was temporarily halted last month due to equipment problems.

Hopes are being pinned on Shin Hanul No. 1, which can produce 1,400 megawatts of electricity, to help with a stable supply. But the operation of the plant, located in Uljin North Gyeongsang, is still being tested.

The plant’s construction was complete in April 2020, but it has not been able to operate due to safety issues.

“We plan on [officially operating] the Shin Hanul No.1 in the second half of this year, but [operation] is expected to be difficult in July and August, when electricity demand reaches its peak,” according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Friday.

Temperatures are predicted to range between 27 to 34 degrees Celsius over the next 10 days, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Sunday.

Korea had an average of 1.6 days in June when the highest temperature was 33 degrees Celsius. It marks the third most, after 1.9 days in 2020, 1.7 days in 2017 and the same 1.6 days in 2000.

Korea had its first tropical night on June 26, the earliest since July 2nd in 1978. A tropical night refers to a phenomenon when the lowest temperature from 6:01 p.m. to 9 a.m. the following day is 25 degrees Celsius or above.

BY JIN MIN-JI, CHO HYYUN-SOOK [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]