<Anchor> In the
unbearable heat, demand for electricity also broke new records this summer.
As the amount of time at home has been extended due to the corona virus, household electricity use has increased significantly, Reporter Han Sang-woo reports about the situation of the reserve power.
<Reporter>
Mr. Kim, an office worker working from home, had to turn on the air conditioner all day today (21st).
[Mr. Kim / Office worker who works from home: I usually turn on the air conditioner for a while when it is hot, but today it is so hot that I turn on the air conditioner all day.] As the
heat wave increases the demand for electricity for general households and businesses, the demand for electricity today is increasing. It hit a high this summer.
Electricity consumption continued the same flow as yesterday, then soared at 3 pm, peaking at 5 pm, breaking through 89 gigawatts, the highest level since July.
Thanks to the government's efforts to curb demand, such as keeping the air conditioning temperature at 28 degrees Celsius in public offices, the reserve power was maintained at 11.5 percent or 10 gigawatts.
When the reserve power falls below 5.5 gigawatts, it enters the power forecast preparation stage, and for every 1 gigawatt loss, a forecast of interest, caution, alert, and seriousness is issued.
Today's crisis has been avoided, but there is concern that the rate of increase in electricity usage this summer is too fast as the heat starts early.
Over the past week, electricity usage has increased by an average of 20 percent compared to the same period last year.
[Ministry of Industry and Energy: The demand for electricity is increasing as the temperature rises, but next week, the demand for electricity will slightly decrease due to vacation, and the demand for electricity will peak again in the second week of August… .] The
government expected the demand for electricity to continue to surge this summer, and early approved the restart of three nuclear power plants: Shin-Wolsong Units 1, Shin-Kori Units 4, and Wolsong Units 3.
(Video editing: Lee Seung-yeol, VJ: Park Hyeon-woo)
▶ Refrigerator / water truck on the street… 'Steady heat' until the weekend