Government Delayed Reflecting 4th Industrial Revolution Power Demand... "In the 10th Basic Electricity Plan"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] There are criticisms that the 9th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand (9th Basic Electricity Plan), which outlines the domestic power supply and demand outlook and power generation facility plans from this year to 2034, has failed to properly reflect the factors driving increased electricity consumption such as the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The government held a public hearing on the 9th plan on the 24th at the KEPCO Art Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul. The 9th Basic Electricity Plan removed the Shin Hanul Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4, whose construction was halted, from the power supply sources, and included the closure of 11 out of the 24 currently operating nuclear reactors by 2034.

At the public hearing, there were criticisms that the 9th Basic Electricity Plan underestimated the growth in electricity demand. The government judged that the average annual growth rate of domestic electricity consumption over the past five years was 1.7%, a decline compared to the 3.9% average growth rate from 2010 to 2014. It projected that domestic electricity consumption would increase by an average of 0.6% annually until 2034.

The problem is that the increased electricity demand due to the 4th Industrial Revolution was not properly reflected.

Kim Chang-sik, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University and chairman of the Electricity Demand Forecasting Subcommittee of the 9th Basic Electricity Plan advisory 'Working Group,' revealed, "We considered many forecasts related to the 4th Industrial Revolution, but due to many variables such as smart factories, smart cities, and smart homes, it was very difficult to accurately determine the increase or decrease in consumption."

He added, "The changes in electricity demand and peak power demand forecasts due to the 4th Industrial Revolution were not explicitly reflected in this 9th Basic Electricity Plan and were concluded to be incorporated in the next supply and demand plan."

The core of the power supply and demand plan is to present demand forecast projections, but the contents related to the 4th Industrial Revolution were not included. This has been a persistent concern since the Working Group released the draft of the 9th Basic Electricity Plan on May 8.

Jung Dong-wook, a professor in the Department of Energy Systems Engineering at Chung-Ang University, pointed out, "The main framework of the 9th Basic Electricity Plan was already established last year, but now, a year past the scheduled announcement, the concerns raised at that time have not been properly addressed, which should be regarded as a missed opportunity."

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