The Ministry of Knowledge Economy’s “yellow alert,” an emergency energy conservation measure taken in response to high oil prices this past winter, is estimated to have saved more than 9 million kilowatt hours per day—enough energy to power more than a million homes.

A review to assess the effectiveness of the emergency measure found that Korea had saved 96.2 million kilowatt hours per day between March 8 and April 17, as compared with the previous one-month period when less strict measures were in place. This figure was adjusted to 9 million kilowatt hours per day when the warmer spring weather was taken into account.

The chart below shows Korea’s four alert levels, which correspond to the price of Dubai crude oil and determine what measures are required to conserve energy. Between February 8 and March 7, Korea was on “blue alert,” the lowest level on the scale. At the blue level, central heating is turned off for two hour-long periods per day during peak hours; indoor temperatures must be set no higher than 18 degrees Celsius; and employees must observe a weekly “no-driving day.” These restrictions apply to all the nation’s public agencies: central and local government agencies, government-affiliated organizations and public enterprises.

But after oil prices remained above $100 per barrel for five straight days in February, the Ministry issued a “yellow alert” and imposed additional restrictions on energy use. At the yellow level, outdoor decorative lighting must be turned off in facilities managed by public organizations (such as towers, bridges and fountains). Private organizations must turn off their outdoor decorative lighting between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

In Seoul and the surrounding area, weekly no-driving days increased the use of public transit about 5.8 percent in March as compared with February. Nationwide, average daily gasoline sales fell from 28.5 million barrels in the first two months of 2011 to 25.1 million barrels between March 1 and April 10, a decline of about 12.1 percent.

To encourage the public to participate in the national efforts to conserve energy, MKE is taking the following steps:

Ø       MKE will award cash prizes to the 10,000 households that save the most energy compared with the previous year.

Ø       Contests are under way to recognize outstanding ideas to help citizens reduce energy consumption.

Ø       A fund will be established by the end of 2011 to finance energy-saving facilities.

Ø       MKE plans to provide assistance to business owners who cannot afford to install LED signboards. Some 15,000 conventional signboards will be replaced with LED signboards in 2011, a measure expected to save more than 19 billion won in energy costs.

Ø       Under a new pilot program, energy bills for apartment complex dwellers in Seoul contain more detailed information about household energy use; the color of the bill shows whether a household consumes more or less energy than neighboring households. Apartment complexes that were part of the program used 8.9 percentage points less energy than apartment complexes outside Seoul. The new billing system will apply to apartment complexes nationwide beginning in July.

      Korea’s Energy Alert System

- Before an alert is declared, the price of Dubai crude oil must stay in the stated range for five consecutive days. Public buildings are monitored to ensure compliance.   

Energy Saved Under the Yellow Alert

* Released by the Energy Cooperation Division