By Kim Jong-chan
When I returned from work to my apartment in southern Seoul I thought that something was wrong. In a hurriedly-arranged announcement through loudspeakers installed in each household, a janitor was asking residents to turn off their air conditioners for fear the entire apartment complex where I live would have a possible blackout. He said transformers were on the verge of a power failure stemming from excessive electricity use.
Despite his appeal, I could not turn off the air conditioner in my living room because of the tropical night phenomenon. Instead, I turned off the lights and electric fans, even though I was aware that turning on an air conditioner consumes much more electricity than any other cooling device.
A record hot spell caused a surge in consumption of electricity for more than two weeks from late last month, promoting the Korea Power Exchange in southern Seoul to repeatedly issue a power shortage alert.
The state-run electricity distributor struggled to head off a power crisis for the second consecutive day on Aug. 7. It issued a warning 40 minutes before noon after the country's electricity reserve levels dropped to 3.3 million kilowatts. The reserve dropped further during peak hours, forcing the company to upgrade the warning. The move came after the energy consumption reached a record high of 74.29 million kilowatts a day earlier.
Air conditioners were the main culprit behind the surge in electricity consumption. High humidity levels, coupled with high temperatures, made more people turn to their only line of defense ― air conditioners.
The situation quickly reminded me of a blackout that occurred on Sept. 15 last year as the reserve tumbled to 240,000 kilowatts. Imagine if the reserves run out and a nationwide blackout rocks the country. The catastrophe would plunge every city into darkness. It would take weeks or months to recover.
There were concerns that this year, Koreans will consume 2 million kilowatts of electricity more than last year. Government officials attributed this to wasting power as well as the sweltering weather.
I saw many stores in the street run air conditioners, with their doors wide open, and big buildings maintaining indoor air temperatures at less than 26 degrees Celcius. They were violating a set of measures, which the government announced before the arrival of the hot spell, to reduce electricity use.
The government pledged to fine violators up to 3 million won. But those energy-saving schemes did not work since many store owners with air conditioners refused to close their doors during business hours, saying that the closure will cause a decrease in sales. No penalties were reported.
Many people agree that reducing electricity use is important to save money, among others. But even those, who support energy conservation, don't always practice it.
The 2011 blackout occurred in mid-September. Turning up the thermostat of the air conditioner by a degree is a small step to help ensure no disruptions in power supply. It will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions which are blamed for the rise in temperatures.
It could be warmer next year. Temperatures during the first seven days of this month averaged 28.1 degrees Celsius, 2.1 degrees higher than that of an average year, according to government statistics. For the past century, Korea's temperatures have risen by 1.5 degrees, double the global average of 0.74 degrees ― faster than predicted.
Will Koreans have to consume millions of kilowatts of power more every year, and how can the electricity distributor provide it? It is right to say that the country should increase overall energy production, but it is nonsense to endlessly increase production while electricity is being wasted in unnecessary ways.