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The basic plan for electricity demand and supply for 2017-2031, announced Thursday, marks a fundamental shift in Korea's energy policy.
While the previous seven plans focused on increasing supply, this eighth one emphasizes controlling demand. Also, existing schemes prioritize economic efficiency, but the new policy puts environment and safety ahead.
It is only natural and desirable _ in this regard, the nation's energy mix will change from nuclear power and coal to renewable energy and liquefied natural gas. President Moon Jae-in should keep his word to reduce undue reliance on atomic and dirty fuel and move toward safer and cleaner sources.
Noteworthy was the scaling back of the peak power demand in 2030 to 100.5 gigawatts, down 11 percent from the 113.2 GW forecast in the previous plan. Policymakers in the past made economic growth and electricity demand estimates higher than needed to build more power stations. When power consumption fell short of expectations, they cut power rates temporarily to encourage electricity use.
The time has long past for the government to stop encouraging the waste of resources and move toward more rational use of energy.
Planners are right to reduce the number of atomic power plants from 24 now to 18 by 2030, considering safety risks and a sharp increase in nuclear waste processing. On the other hand, they will increase the generation capacity of renewable energy to 20 percent of the total energy mix, 3.5 times its present share of 6.2 percent.
There is a caveat: officials should not excessively adhere to meeting the numerical targets, causing various side effects. They should instead expand renewable energy's share substantively through careful calculation of environmental impacts and commercial viability.
A prerequisite for the smooth implementation of the new energy plan is how to limit power rate hikes to 1.3 percent a year, as promised. News media ought not to exaggerate as if the country is shuttering all nuclear plants right away or power bills are skyrocketing shortly. Last but not least, industrial and individual consumers should also adapt to business and life patterns minimizing energy use.
