Higher industrial demand tempers drop in March electricity sales

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- Higher industrial demand in March helped reduce the
decline in electricity sales brought on by the worldwide economic slump, the
government said Wednesday.

The Korean Electricity Commission (KOREC) said sales of industrial electric power
fell 2.8 percent on-year in the cited month to 16.88 million megawatt-hour
compared to 5.5 percent and 11.0 percent drops tallied for February and January,
respectively.
The commission attributed the greater use of electric power to one more working
day compared to the year before and a turnaround in power use by key industries.
"Use of electricity by the semiconductor, steel and chemical industries rebounded
into positive territory for the first time in five months," a KOREC official
said.
He said sales of power to the three sectors gained 0.8-1.6 percent annually,
while those for shipbuilding and oil refineries soared 12.8 percent and 10.1
percent each.
Electricity use is directly related to economic health, with South Korean demand
falling off as the country tries to cope with the global slump that began last
year.
"The gain in some of the key industries may be a sign of recovery, although gains
have yet to be observed in other sectors," the official added.
Power demand for pulp and paper, textiles, machinery manufacturing and autos
continued to remain in minus territory, with demand from carmakers plummeting
22.2 percent last month.
The commission under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, said overall demand
including industrial, commercial and private home use fell 2.3 percent compared
to March 2008.
Power sales to homes were down 0.6 percent, while those for general commercial
use edged up 0.7 percent.
Overall power transaction for the month moved up 3.7 percent on-year to 34.5
billion kilowatt-hour.
KOREC, meanwhile, said that peak energy used in March reached 58.05 million
kilowatt-hour as of 11 a.m. on March 3, with the ability of the country to supply
power edging up 1.3 percent to 66.65 million kilowatt-hour that permitted a
reserve of 14.8 percent.
It added, rise in power purchase costs caused operating losses at state-run Korea
Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) to reach 1,2 trillion won in the first two months of
this year.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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