With another cold spell expected on Tuesday, the Korea Electric Power Corp., the nation’s sole electricity transmission and distribution operator, is on alert to prevent blackouts caused by surges in energy demand.

The electricity supply has failed to keep up with demand during energy peak seasons for the past few years.

Together with the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and other energy-related organizations, the state-run utility company has developed an energy contingency plan to keep daily electricity reserves above the danger level of 4 million kilowatts. 

The plan includes a variety of measures to manage energy demand, including a voluntary energy-saving campaign for citizens and companies. KEPCO has requested households, office buildings and industrial sites to maintain indoor temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius through the end of February next year.

In addition, KEPCO will introduce a “selective extra-charging system” for energy spenders from Jan. 1 next year. The system will charge applicants extra when they use power during peak hours, while offering a discount for power use outside peak periods.

The system will be run selectively for applicants whose daily electricity use ranges from 300 kilowatts to 3,000 kilowatts. KEPCO will give them notice of peak periods one day in advance so applicants can avoid being additionally charged. KEPCO expects to save 0.2 million kilowatts per day through this system.

There will be obligatory measures as well. For the first two months of next year, about 6,000 big energy spenders whose maximum electricity use exceeds 3,000 kilowatts will be forced to cut their daily energy use by up to 10 percent. This measure will save 1.7 million kilowatts on a daily basis, KEPCO estimated.

KEPCO also runs its own internal energy-saving campaign, maintaining the temperature in its office building below 18 degrees Celsius. In addition, it shuts off the heating during lunch time and one hour before the office closes at 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, new KEPCO CEO Cho Hwan-eik said in his inaugural speech on Tuesday that he would fix the imbalance between energy supply and demand during his term, while placing priority on energy demand control this winter. Cho served as a senior official at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

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