Government Reviews New Nuclear Power Plants... Early Start of the 11th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand

Lee Chang-yang "Responding to Power Demand through Expansion of Nuclear Power and Others"
Need to Break the Practice of Delayed Establishment of Electricity Plans

The government will take early steps to initiate the 11th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand, including reviewing the construction of new nuclear power plants.

On the 10th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy discussed this matter at the 29th Energy Committee meeting chaired by Minister Lee Chang-yang. The ministry stated, "There were requests from many private committee members emphasizing the need to expand power supply capacity, including the review of new nuclear power plants," and added, "We will start the establishment of the 11th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand early by the end of July to review the necessity of expanding power supply capacity." The 11th plan will cover electricity supply and demand forecasts, power generation, and transmission and transformation facility plans from 2024 to 2038.

This follows criticism that previous basic plans were delayed and established only at the end of the starting year. According to the Electricity Business Act, the government must establish a Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand every two years, covering the next 15 years. The 8th plan started in 2017, the 9th in 2020, and the 10th in 2022, so they should have been established the year before, but were finalized and announced in December 2017, December 2020, and January 2023, respectively.

Committee members evaluated that the 10th plan established by the current government is meaningful in that it relaxes the previous administration’s excessive renewable energy deployment targets and restores the role of nuclear power. They also expressed opinions that expanding the power grid and improving the efficiency of the electricity market are urgent.

Minister Lee said in his opening remarks, "It is necessary to closely analyze changes in electricity supply and demand conditions and prepare response strategies to timely respond to increasing electricity demand and provide stable and efficient power supply," adding, "To secure stable power supply capacity in preparation for demand growth, it is necessary to consider expanding new supply capacities such as nuclear power and hydrogen."

Minister Lee Chang-yang of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy chaired the 29th Energy Committee on the 10th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, with ex officio members from related ministries such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Environment, as well as private members and officials including Professor Son Yang-hoon of Incheon National University, Vice President Park Jin-ho of Korea Energy University, and Secretary-General Kim So-hee of the Climate Change Center, totaling about 20 attendees. Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

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