Heat Wave Drives South Korea's Electricity Demand to Highest Level This Year

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JAKARTA - The prolonged heat wave has pushed South Korea's electricity demand to the highest level of the year. Electricity demand is expected to continue to increase as high temperatures have not subsided and industrial activity is expected to rise again after the summer holidays.

Yonhap quoted Monday, August 10, saying data from the Korea Power Exchange or KPX showed that maximum electricity demand reached 95.321 gigawatt on Friday.

The reserve capacity, which is the power that is still available above the current needs, is at the level of 8.2 gigawatt.

An emergency warning of electricity supply will be issued if the reserve capacity drops below 5.5 gigawatt.

The government estimates that electricity demand will increase again in the coming week. High temperatures have not shown signs of easing, while industrial production is expected to rise after the summer holidays.

The Energy Ministry said this year's electricity supply capacity has been increased by 2 gigawatt compared to last year to 107 gigawatt.

The government has also prepared an additional reserve of 8.8 gigawatt to anticipate possible unexpected supply shortages.

KPX stated that the supply and demand for electricity was still managed stably.

"We manage the supply and demand of electricity stably and currently there are no major disruptions at nuclear power plants or solar power plants," said KPX.

KPX said it would continue to work to prevent power supply disruptions.