The early onset of heat waves in South Korea has pushed electricity demand to levels typically seen during the peak of summer.
Power authorities reported Wednesday that maximum power demand surged to 95.7 gigawatts on Tuesday, setting a new all-time high for July. This shattered the previous July record of 93.4 gigawatts set just a day earlier on Monday, which had already surpassed the former record of 92.99 gigawatts from July 7, 2022.
Historically, demand exceeding 90 gigawatts has been observed between late July and early August, the hottest period of the year.
On Tuesday, Vice Minister Lee Ho-hyeon of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy visited a substation supplying power to the Greater Seoul area. He pledged to review summer power supply readiness with relevant agencies to ensure stability.
Despite the unprecedented early-summer heat driving electricity demand above expected levels, the ministry remains optimistic. They project that the power supply will remain stable, with an expected reserve margin of over 10 gigawatts to be maintained.
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