Panic over power shortage

Time to make conservation a part of daily life

The ghost of a possible power blackout is haunting the nation prematurely as a cold wave hit the peninsula earlier than expected. It’s lamentable to see our power authorities and businesses get panicky over fears of shortages.

The Korea Power Exchange issued an “attention’’ alert at 8:36 a.m. Tuesday after electricity reserves plunged to 3.5 million kilowatts. “Attention’’ is the second in the country’s five-stage alert system enforced when power reserves fall below the critical level of four million kW.

The alert was lifted at 11:45 a.m. as the power reserve level was brought back to above four million kW thanks to premeditated saving measures that include pleading big businesses to cut electricity use during peak hours. On Monday, the power exchange also issued power alerts twice.

The succession of alerts comes as the mercury dipped below minus 10 degrees Celsius for three days in a row in most parts of the country.

Aside from the unusual cold snap, five of the nation’s 23 nuclear reactors are out of operation and all this explains why the power supply-demand situation is the worst ever.

At present, power reserves are kept at barely four million kW but conditions could get worse in January, when reserves are feared to dip below one million kW amid freezing temperatures. In that case, the alert would be upgraded to the highest level of “seriousness,’’ when a rolling blackout may become a reality as it did in September last year. In fact, the power authorities estimate reserves for January at 1.27 million kW.

It’s regrettable that the nation has to grapple with possible power outages every year due to a dereliction of duty on the part of policymakers who failed to make an accurate forecast for power demand.

The situation is quite serious, given the difficulties of controlling increases in power supply and demand. Although existing nuclear power plants are rapidly wearing out, it has become all but impossible to locate new venues for nuclear power plants amid the rapid spread of the Nymby (not-in-my-backyard) syndrome.

People’s anxiety regarding the safety of nuclear reactors also heightened amid frequent breakdowns and the broad-based use of unwarranted parts. Against this backdrop, the major presidential candidates make it clear to oppose the construction of new atomic power plants.

Given this, there is no other alternative but to save on electricity. Specifically, citizens and businesses must reduce electricity use in the morning and evening peak time and keep the temperature of a room below 20 degrees Celsius. And households need to use more power-saving devices to make energy conservation a part of daily life.

There is a strong need to raise electricity rates to encourage more people to join the conservation drive voluntarily. But this is not easy, considering that power rates have risen twice since last year.

The power authorities need to focus on getting the suspended reactors back on track as soon as possible by speeding up the replacement of components. <The Korea Times>