The government reportedly plans to utilize a coal power plant if electricity demand surges this summer.

According to its summer outlook for electric power demand and supply and related measures finalized on Thursday, the country’s summer electricity demand is estimated to peak at 94.4 GW in the second week of August.

The expected maximum available supply in the week of expected peak demand is 99.2 GW, and the remaining capacity will decrease to 4.8 GW. The ratio of the remaining capacity to the maximum demand, called a reserve margin, will be 5.0 percent.

The minimum expected reserve margin for this summer is 4.2 percent in the fourth week of July when capacity and demand are estimated at 97.2 GW and 93.2 GW, respectively. In July 2018 when temperatures hit a 111-year high, peak demand surpassed 90 GW for the first time. And yet the reserve capacity was 7.7 percent of the peak demand.

If electricity demand surges as forecast and the remaining capacity falls below 5.5 GW, an alert on power shortages will be issued according to related regulations -- the first time in eight years after August 2013. Emergency measures will be implemented depending on the level of crisis.

The government says that it can cope with such a situation by operating coal and liquefied natural gas power plants currently on trial runs in addition to steps to suppress demand and utilize energy storage systems.

It is self-contradictory to decide to generate electric power using coals and LNG even after it vowed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power are not enough for a stable supply of electric power. There is too much volatility in producing electricity from those sources. Particularly, they are not suitable for Korea’s natural environment.

It is undesirable either to increase the portion of LNG in the country’s energy mix. For LNG, Korea depends entirely on imports. Also, LNG power facilities emit a huge amount of toxic gases.

In view of the global trend to reduce emissions, Korea cannot build coal power plants anymore.

In a country where solar panels and windmills are barely suitable for power generation, nuclear power plants are the best alternative to overcome a power crisis and at the same time achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

However, the administration is unshakably pursuing a policy to wean the nation from nuclear energy.

In early 2018 when a cold snap hit the nation and escalated the risk of power shortages, the government instructed companies on several occasions to cut back on their use of electric power. Nevertheless, it refused to increase nuclear energy.

The government is even trying not to use a newly built atomic power plant, let alone existing nuclear power plants.

The Shin Hanul Unit 1 is still waiting for the approval of operation, though its construction was completed in April last year as the country’s 25th nuclear power plant. It is hard to understand that a new power plant is left idle for more than a year. According to the original plan by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., its operation should have started this month.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission is dragging its feet with its approval of its operation. It raised absurd issues such as the risk of an airplane crashing the facility or whether it was designed to be safe from North Korea’s long-range artillery fire. The majority of commission members are figures recommended by the government and the ruling party.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum recently said that it is not right to leave a nuclear power plant intact after spending a lot of money to construct it. The government must speed up procedures to start the Shin Hanul Unit 1 as early as possible.

It is unreasonable to try to prevent electric power shortages with a coal power plant while letting a new nuclear power plant stand idle.