Agyohyeop Urges Inclusion of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 in the 9th Supply Plan

'Supply Stability and Economic Efficiency' Must Be Prioritized in the Electric Utility Act
Rising Costs of LNG and Renewable Energy Transition... "Electricity Rate Increase Must Be Disclosed and Public Understanding Sought"

The National Signature Campaign Headquarters for Opposing Nuclear Phase-Out and Resuming Construction of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 held a press conference last year at the fountain in front of the Blue House in Jongno-gu, Seoul. After the press conference, the campaign headquarters moved to the Yeonpungmun Gate of the Blue House and met with Kang Ki-jung, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, delivering a public letter to the President along with a petition signed by 330,000 people opposing the nuclear phase-out and supporting the resumption of construction of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Council of Professors Pursuing Rationalization of Energy Policy (Egyopyeop) has argued that Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 should be included in the 9th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand. They judged that the government's 'nuclear phase-out roadmap' until 2034 cannot guarantee both stability and economic feasibility.

On the 11th, Egyopyeop criticized in a statement that the 9th plan contradicts the purpose of the Electricity Business Act, which requires prioritizing the stability and economic feasibility of electricity supply and demand.

Egyopyeop said the 9th plan is insufficient to be regarded as the 'basic policy on electricity supply stability' as stated in Article 3 of the law. They viewed the plan as inadequate to prevent large-scale blackouts or rolling blackouts.

In the draft of the 9th plan, the maximum power demand in 2034 was derived as 104.2GW, and the expected average annual increase rate of power demand from 2020 to 2034 was 1.0%, lower than the 1.3% in the 8th plan.

Egyopyeop claimed, "The draft of the 9th plan predicts maximum power demand too optimistically, failing to respond to the rapid increase in power demand due to the advancement of the 4th Industrial Revolution, which could cause power supply instability."

Egyopyeop also criticized the General Subcommittee, an advisory body for the 9th plan, for not sufficiently considering the 'economic feasibility of electrical facilities' as stated in Article 3, Paragraph 2 of the law. They said that only environmental and safety aspects were excessively considered.

Their argument is that the transition to liquefied natural gas (LNG), which has a high generation cost, is too rapid, inevitably damaging economic feasibility.

According to the Korea Power Exchange's Electricity Statistics Information System, as of February, the LNG settlement price per 1kWh was 114.6 KRW, higher than nuclear power at 60.7 KRW and bituminous coal at 91.2 KRW. Egyopyeop stated that the increase in electricity rates and the amount of burden on the public until 2030 should be presented first to gain public consent.

Additionally, Egyopyeop pointed out that the 9th plan does not include evaluations and corrective measures regarding ▲ the underestimation of maximum power demand in the 8th plan ▲ and the accumulated deficits of Korea Electric Power Corporation due to the nuclear phase-out policy, which also contradicts the law's intent.

They emphasized that including Shin Hanul Nuclear Power Units 3 and 4 in the 9th plan can improve both stability and economic feasibility.

Egyopyeop urged, "Re-include Shin Hanul Nuclear Power Units 3 and 4 in the 9th plan to restore the stable and economical power supply contribution of low-cost clean energy nuclear power."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.