[Editorial] Electricity supply

Large-scale electricity infrastructure needed to bolster cutting-edge industries

Electrical grids, which deliver power to households, businesses and industrial sectors, are becoming increasingly important in recent years. Grids are having greater demand placed on them not only for the transition to green energy, but also for cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence.

But the global push for green energy and advanced technology has been mired in delays as a result of bottlenecks linked to grid facilities. According to a recent report by Kepco Management Research Institute, such delays in grid investment are feared to increase global carbon dioxide emissions, which can in turn undermine the production of eco-friendly energy for the future.

Across the world, some 3,000 gigawatts of renewable power projects have yet to get grid connection, according to a report based on the analysis of the International Energy Agency. The bottleneck is bad news for governments around the world, which have to handle greater electricity use to meet their national energy and climate goals.

Meeting climate targets is easier said than done. The KEMRI report suggests that grid investment will have to nearly double by 2030 to over $600 billion per year to address growing concerns about the continued delays in the grid digitalization and modernization plans.

South Korea is also required to accelerate its grid investment. After all, the country is struggling with soaring electricity demand, while related investments, including grid networks, remains sluggish in the face of protests from local administrations and residents.

Last month, Korea’s electricity demand hit an all-time high, reflecting the scorching summer heat. But the unusually hot weather is only one of the multiple problems that complicate the nation’s power supply issue.

Experts continue to call for the government to prepare for a far bigger increase in power demand than now, as companies in the semiconductor industry, data centers and electric vehicles are expected to need much more electricity in the form of a reliable supply system.

In particular, the exponential growth of the AI industry and a massive chip cluster are set to boost demand for electricity -- possibly beyond the estimate of policymakers in charge of energy supply.

There is nothing wrong with the logic that Korea needs to build more advanced grid networks in an attempt to prop up related industries where more electricity is needed. The problem lies in the negative public perception about such facilities being built close to residential areas.

Last month, the city of Hanam in Gyeonggi Province rejected the Korea Electric Power Corp.’s plan for electricity transmission facilities in the city. The move came as a serious blow to the government and Kepco, since the project is deemed essential for transmitting electricity produced in the east coast to the capital area.

The envisioned grid network, to be originally built by June 2026, is especially critical to the power supply for the chip cluster in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province -- the world’s largest semiconductor mega cluster, which will involve a massive 600 trillion won ($447 billion) in investment.

Korea has planned to invest a total of 56 trillion won through 2036 to build more power grids and electricity transmission networks throughout the country, including clean energy generation facilities. But many of the projects are now stuck in indefinite delays and legal disputes, largely because residents and provincial administrations do not want such facilities to be built in their areas for safety and other reasons.

To find a breakthrough, experts argue that the government and lawmakers should work together to pass a pending special bill aimed at facilitating the national backbone of electrical grids. The National Assembly must pass legislation to enhance the country’s industrial competitiveness closely related to its power supply.

By Korea Herald(khnews@heraldcorp.com)