KEPCO(Korea Electric Power Corp.) beat out France consortium and won a $40 billion contract with UAE (United Arab Emirates) to build nuclear power plants in UAE, Dec.27 2009. At last Korea°Øs nuclear technology is being recognized and Korea has become a nuclear exporter 40 years after nuclear power plants were built here. Korea°Øs nuclear technology will be open wide for export to other countries though this contract.
Not only the Middle East, but also other countries have been making effort to build nuclear plants, because electric energy is one of the most important elements for developing a country. However, many people don°Øt know about electric energy, even though we use it continually.
This winter was very cold and there was heavier snowfall than usual. In January, the winter°Øs largest energy demand was 68,758ß”(Megawatt), while summer°Øs largest  demand was 63,212ß”. When the demand exceeds 70 thousandsß”, the maximum limit, spare energy is needed. This time it came to 3,220ß”, under the emergency limit of 4,000ß”. If the spare energy is short, it can demage the electric industry, because it°Øs hard to control the frequency or adjust the voltage. Also, in the event of a shortage of spare energy, if a 1,000ß” generator breaks down, a serious national power outage can occur like the Manhattan Blackout in 1979. To protect against this emergency state, limiting the supply of electricity should be considered.
Everybody hears, °∞Save Electric Energy,°± but only a few people understand the reason. Maybe some people wondered why KEPCO makes so much effort to save energy. In common sense, people think selling more is better for the company, if people use more energy it would be better for KEPCO. But this kind of common sense doesn°Øt apply here, because electric energy need power station to make.
There is a clear difference between electric energy and other energies. Electric Energy has a limit, so if the demand exceeds the maximum energy supply, a new nuclear plant is needed. Nowadays Korea°Øs energy demand has almost reached 70 thousandsß”, the maximum supply. It means KEPCO has to build a new nuclear plant. However, if a new nuclear plant is built because of the demand in winter, people still use much less energy during the other seasons. This would mean a great waste of energy. In addition, South Korea generates its own electric energy, but basic raw materials are imported.
According to a survey by KEPCO, domestic heater°Øs supply is up 34% compared with 2006, and the survey expects air-conditioner ownership will reach 1.01 per household by 2021. Yes, almost all households will have an air-conditioner. You can reduce greatly consumption of energy by caring about saving energy especially during the winter and summer, seasons when it°Øs easy to waste energy. Korea became the a world°Øs sixth exporter of nuclear power plants, because of the contract with UAE. However, most Koreans lack knowledge of energy efficiency and don’t have good energy consumption behaviors. Wise use of electric energy is as important as position in the world nuclear power industry.

THE KOOKMIN REVIEW Reporter Lee G Hae - 2010/03/22