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organized by a number of environmental groups including Joint Action for a Nuclear-Free Society

According to a Feb. 9 report published by the National Assembly Budget Office (NAB), even if Wolseong No. 1 and Kori No. 1 nuclear reactors are decommissioned at the end of their designed lifespan, South Korea is projected to have a stable supply of electricity through 2025.

On Monday, the budget office released a preliminary assessment of the government’s basic plan for supplying electric power, addressing some of the contentious claims in the plan.

The 7th Power Supply Plan, prepared by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, defines South Korea’s power generation goals through 2029.

“Even in the event that Wolseong No. 1 and Kori No. 1 are shut down, the installed reserve rate will exceed 20% through 2025. Consequently, the question of whether to continue operating these reactors, which would require an extension of their lifespan, would have little effect on the stability of the power supply,” the budget office projected in its report.

There are a number of reasons for this. First, the reactors that were planned in the 6th Power Supply Plan will be coming online around 2021, boosting the installed reserve rate and thus leading to a surplus in the power supply. Second, the economy has been growing more slowly than expected while the price of electricity has been increasing, which is expected to curb demand for (and hence consumption of) electricity.

Based on these projections, Justice Party lawmaker Kim Je-nam analyzed what would happen if Wolseong No. 1 and Kori No. 1 were decommissioned in the first half of 2015 and the first half of 2017, respectively.

“According to my analysis, the installed reserve rate could be maintained between 18.5% and 21.0% through 2027, which is higher than the ideal reserve rate of 15%,” Kim said.

The installed reserve rate refers to the percentage of generation capacity held in reserve above the maximum power demand projected during a given year. When the reserve rate increases, power generators should be shut down to keep the rate at the ideal level.

Generally speaking, 15% is regarded as a safe rate.

“The government‘s claim that extending the lifespan of the aging nuclear reactors is essential for the power supply is a obvious lie. The government should shut down Wolseong No. 1 immediately and stop provoking unnecessary arguments about extending its lifespan,” Kim said.

In related news, with the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) scheduled to review a proposal to extend the lifespan of Wolseong No. 1 only three days later, press conferences were held simultaneously on Monday morning in Seoul and other major cities around the country in opposition to the proposal. The conferences were planned by environmental organizations and other civic groups, with religious leaders, academics, cultural figures, and ordinary citizens taking part.

A conference at the Press Center in central Seoul was organized by a number of environmental groups including Joint Action for a Nuclear-Free Society, Friends of the Earth Korea, and Green Korea.

“Now that Wolseong No. 1’s lifespan is over, decommissioning it is the first step toward keeping us safe. We strongly urge the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission to respect public wishes by making the wise decision,” the groups said.

By Lee Seung-joon, staff reporter

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