SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state-run power exchange said Wednesday it ordered local companies to cut their power use to maintain a stable electricity reserve rate as the bone-chilling cold gripping most of the nation drove up heating demand.
The Korea Power Exchange (KPX) said it issued a demand response order to companies to cut electricity use between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. as the country's power use soared to 85 million kilowatts earlier in the morning.
The order, the third this year, came as most parts of South Korea were hit by a severe cold wave. The weather agency issued cold weather alert across the country, with the temperature in Seoul dipping to minus 17 degrees Celsius.
About 1,700 companies are expected to save about 2.7 million kW in electricity under the order, the exchange said.
The electricity reserve rate remained at a stable level of 16 percent as of 9:30 a.m., according to the KPX.
The demand response system operates when load reductions are needed to prevent shortfalls in power supply. Adopted in 2014, 3,580 companies are members of the system. The KPX used the system five times last year.
A pedestrian wearing a thick winter jacket walks along a street in the southeastern city of Busan on Jan. 24, 2018. (Yonhap)
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