"Regional Gap in Power Production and Consumption Up to 138 Times... Expansion of Distributed Power Sources"

Power Self-Sufficiency: Daejeon 1.8%, Seoul 3.9% VS Incheon 247%, Chungnam 235%
Gyeonggi and Seoul Consume More Than They Produce... Chungnam, Incheon, Gyeongbuk Produce More Than They Consume
"Places Using Electricity and Places Bearing Environmental Burdens Are Separate..." Severe Regional Disparities in Pollution and Transmission Burdens

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] It has been revealed that the imbalance between regional power production and consumption differs by up to more than 138 times.

According to the 'Power Production and Consumption Status by Local Government' data submitted by Korea Electric Power Corporation to Lee Seong-man, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, as of last year, Daejeon had the lowest power self-sufficiency rate at 1.78%, followed by Seoul at 3.92%.

On the other hand, Incheon recorded 247%, and Chungnam 245%. This means that Incheon and Chungnam send more electricity to other regions than their local consumption. Comparing Daejeon and Incheon, the ratio of regional power production to consumption differs by up to 138 times.

The power self-sufficiency rate refers to the value obtained by dividing power production by power consumption.

2019 Local Government Electricity Production and Consumption Status (Data provided by Seongman Lee, Office of the Democratic Party of Korea)

Incheon, Chungnam, Busan, Gyeongbuk, Gangwon, Jeonnam, and Gyeongnam recorded self-sufficiency rates exceeding 100%. This means they send a significant portion of their power production to other regions. Seoul and Gyeonggi's power demand accounts for 32.7% of the national demand, but their in-region production was only 13.5%.

Daejeon produced only 168 GWh of electricity locally but consumed 9,416 GWh. It received 9,248 GWh from other regions.

Seoul's power generation was 1,847 GWh, but consumption was 47,167 GWh, requiring 45,320 GWh of electricity supplied from other regions.

Gyeonggi Province had a power self-sufficiency rate of 60.1%, ranking 7th lowest among 17 local governments, but its consumption was the highest nationwide at 123,026 GWh. It had to import the largest amount of electricity, 49,049 GWh, from other regions.

Meanwhile, Chungnam, where coal power plants are concentrated, had a local power consumption of 52,645 GWh and production more than double that at 123,905 GWh. It supplied 71,260 GWh of electricity to other regions. Chungnam hosts 20% of the nation's total power generation facilities and is responsible for 22% of South Korea's total power generation.

Incheon’s local consumption was 24,291 GWh, but production was 60,053 GWh, supplying 35,772 GWh of electricity to other regions.

Gyeongbuk, where nuclear power plants are concentrated, had a local power consumption of only 44,315 GWh but produced 123,905 GWh, supplying 71,260 GWh of electricity to other regions.

Due to the large gap between regional power production and consumption, issues of inequality have been raised regarding environmental pollution caused by power generation and the burden differences in the transmission process.

Assemblyman Lee said, "There are regions that consume electricity separately, and local governments that bear the fine dust emitted by coal power plants and the risks of nuclear power plants separately," adding, "In the short term, this imbalance should be reflected in the electricity pricing system, and ultimately, distributed power sources such as new and renewable energy that produce and consume electricity locally should be expanded."

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