South Korea launches energy saving campaign amid heatwave

As extreme heatwaves drive up demand for cooling, the South Korean government and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) are taking measures to manage electricity consumption and rising costs.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, alongside the Korea Energy Agency, has launched a two-week energy conservation campaign. A key focus is discouraging "open-door cooling," where operating air conditioners with doors open can increase power consumption by approximately 1.7 times. The campaign includes street activities in major commercial areas and a nationwide lights-out event on August 22 to mark "Energy Day."

To address rising electricity bills, KEPCO is piloting a real-time notification service for approximately 2.3 million households to alert them before they enter the third tier of the progressive billing system. For the summer months, the threshold for the highest tier is set at 450kWh.

Experts suggest that energy efficiency depends on the type of air conditioner used. For inverter-type models, maintaining a constant temperature by leaving the unit running during short absences (under 90 minutes) is more efficient than frequent cycling. In contrast, constant-speed models may benefit from being turned off once the room is sufficiently cooled.