The government plans to launch measures to cut power use this week to prevent a possible blackout during the winter.

“It is inevitable that the government will launch a full-scale power-saving campaign, including limits on power usage of businesses, to cope with unprecedented serial shutdowns of nuclear power reactors,” said an official from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy on Sunday.

Three nuclear reactors, each with a power generation capacity of 1,000 megawatts, stopped operations last week due to malfunctions or other reasons.

Units 5 and 6 of the nuclear power complex in Yeonggwang, South Jeolla Province, were shut down on Nov. 5 after the ministry found that a number of substandard components had been used in the two reactors for the past 10 years.

The two reactors will be suspended until all relevant parts have been replaced. The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power said Sunday that it was making all out efforts to resume operations of unit 5 early next month.

Unit 3 of the same complex also halted operations last Friday as minor cracks on its control rod tubes were found during a regular check-up. The reactor’s operations will also be suspended until the safety issue is resolved.

Further, 30-year-old unit 1 of the Wolseong nuclear power complex in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, will expire on Nov 30. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission was supposed to allow the 670-megawatt-capacity unit to operate for 10 more years, but industry watchers said the commission would not be in a rush for extended operations of the aged reactors at a time when the community’s concerns over safety are rising.

If operation of the four reactors including the unit 1 in the Wolseong nuclear power complex, which collectively generate about 20 percent of the nation’s nuclear power, remain suspended until January, Korea’s power reserves could fall below 200,000 kilowatts in late January and February when the winter electricity demand peaks.

The nation experienced a blackout on Sept. 25, 2011, when electricity reserves plunged to 240,000 kilowatts.

The ministry said a task force, led by Vice Economy Minister Cho Seok, will soon announce contingency plans for power supply during wintertime. The emergency team is reportedly reviewing several options to save and secure power, including partial power cuts for energy-consuming businesses and rental of power generation ships from Turkey.

By Seo Jee-yeon  (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)