"August Electricity Bills Worry"…Record-Breaking Electricity Usage Amid Continued Heatwave

Electricity Trading Volume in August 51,000 GWh
Usage Up 20% from Last Year, Rates Increase 70%

Due to the consecutive heatwaves last month, electricity consumption reached a record high for summer, according to preliminary estimates. This is interpreted as a result of a sharp increase in electricity demand for cooling in general households and commercial facilities, including stores. Since electricity rates have risen significantly since last year, a family of four that used 20% more electricity for cooling compared to August last year would have to pay electricity bills that increased by more than 70%.

According to the energy industry on the 3rd, the electricity trading volume at the Korea Power Exchange in August was preliminarily estimated at about 51,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh), the highest ever recorded in summer.

An air conditioner outdoor unit is installed on the exterior wall of a building in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

This August marked the first time this year that the monthly electricity trading volume at the Korea Power Exchange increased compared to the same month last year. The industry understands that while industrial electricity usage, which accounts for about 55% of total demand, stagnated due to economic conditions, electricity consumption for general use in households and commercial facilities surged compared to previous years. Normally, household and general electricity usage each account for about 20% of the total.

Electricity consumption for households and general use is closely correlated with weather. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, there were 11 heatwave days in August with daily maximum temperatures above 33 degrees Celsius, the highest since 2018, and the average temperature in Seoul in August was 27.2 degrees Celsius, also the highest since 2018.

As a result, the maximum power demand at 5 p.m. on the 7th of last month reached 93.615 gigawatts (GW), setting a new record for summer. According to the Korea Power Exchange’s power statistics information system, the average maximum power demand in August was also a record high at 82.73 GW.

Since electricity consumption in August is estimated to have increased mainly in households and general use, the electricity bill burden for households and small business owners for August, payable from this month, is expected to have generally increased.

Since last summer, electricity rates have been raised three times by 28.5 won per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to reflect the surge in international energy prices.

A family of four using 427 kWh of electricity per month paid 66,690 won in August last year, but must pay 80,530 won this August, a 20.8% increase. If air conditioner usage increases and electricity consumption rises by 20%, the electricity bill this month would surge by 73.4% to 115,640 won compared to last year. If consumption rises by 30%, the bill would nearly double to 131,340 won. The reason the bill rises more steeply as electricity usage increases is that higher total consumption pushes the user into higher progressive rate brackets where the cost per kWh is higher.

Electricity rates in South Korea are relatively low compared to major countries worldwide. Since 2021, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has been selling electricity below cost, resulting in an accumulated deficit of about 47 trillion won.

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