The early onset of heat waves in South Korea has driven electricity demand to levels typically seen in the peak of summer.

According to the power authorities Wednesday, the maximum power demand surged to 95.7 gigawatts on Tuesday, setting a new all-time high for the month of July. This broke the previous July record of 93.4 gigawatts set just a day earlier on Monday, surpassing the previous record of 92.99 gigawatts set on July 7, 2022.

Demand exceeding 90 gigawatts has usually been observed between late July and early August, the hottest period of the year.

Vice Minister Lee Ho-hyeon of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, during a visit to a substation supplying power to the Greater Seoul area on Tuesday, vowed to review summer power supply readiness with related agencies.

Despite the unprecedented early-summer heat pushing electricity demand above expected levels, the ministry projected that the power supply will remain stable, with a reserve margin of over 10 gigawatts expected to be maintained.

Amid a relentless heat wave, a person walks past a row of air conditioner outdoor units mounted on the exterior wall of a building near Namdaemun in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Wednesday. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)
Amid a relentless heat wave, a person walks past a row of air conditioner outdoor units mounted on the exterior wall of a building near Namdaemun in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Wednesday. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)
A real-time power supply status board is displayed at the Seoul headquarters of the Korea Electric Power Corp. in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Wednesday. (Lim Se-jun / The Korea Herald)
A real-time power supply status board is displayed at the Seoul headquarters of the Korea Electric Power Corp. in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Wednesday. (Lim Se-jun / The Korea Herald)

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