South Korea will have enough capacity to deal with the peak summer energy demands with increased operations of nuclear reactors and new thermal power plants set to come online next month, the industry minister said Wednesday.
Paik Un-gyu, minister of trade, industry and energy, refuted claims that the government is turning to nuclear power to deal with an unexpected surge of power demand caused by the extreme heat wave that has hit the nation.
“It is not true that (the government) resumed operation of nuclear reactors or delayed the timing for their maintenance due to the heat wave. The schedule of all power plants, including the nuclear reactors, had already been confirmed in April,” Paik said. “It is also not true that the government’s energy transformation policy is causing problems in the power supply.”
The Korea Power Exchange expected the maximum power demand to reach 93 million kilowatts (kW) and the reserve rate to drop to 6.8 percent, the lowest in nearly five years.
The policymaker’s remarks came after criticism that the government is flip-flopping on its plan to reduce the ratio of nuclear power on concerns that the intermittent renewable sources may not be enough to properly cope with rising power demand in the face of abnormally high temperatures.
On Sunday, the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) said it will operate two nuclear reactors under maintenance before the peak season and delay the planned maintenance of two others after the summer, which was seen as taking a step back from the government’s anti-nuclear policy.
Paik admitted that the government failed to accurately predict the power demand as the scorching heat came earlier than expected and is expected to last longer this summer, but it is ready to provide necessary electrical power.
The minister said an additional 6.8 million kilowatts (kW) can be acquired by adopting the demand response system, which orders pre-registered companies to cut electricity use during peak times and provide compensation later, and improve the operation rate of power plants. In addition, three thermal power plants are set to go online by the second week of August, which would add 1 million kW.
“If this kind of heat wave lasts, the peak summer season is expected to come in the second week of August, when most companies return to work after vacation,” Paik said. “There won’t be serious problems in the supply management during the peak time.”
In response to criticism that the government conservatively set the electricity reserve rate to support the nuclear phase-out plan, Paik said it will take into account various factors in the long-term energy plan to be released later this year to better predict electricity demands.
“Setting the electricity reserve rate too high is not economical and could lead to a hike in electricity costs. It needs to be set at a relevant level to ensure efficient energy management,” Paik said. “Taking lessons from this (summer), the government will set out its power demand plan with all abnormal weather conditions taken into account.”
Source: Yonhap News