S. Korea reports record high electricity use in first half of 2022

상반기 전력거래량 역대 최고…'이른 더위•코로나19 완화 영향' South Korea hit a record high for electricity usage in the the first six months of 2022... and the third highest ever for any half of the year. Along with increased usage, the rise in global energy prices means the country has seen record high electricity fees. Lee Eun-jin reports. COVID-19 related social distancing and business operation restrictions have all been lifted... and as South Korea returns to normal, energy consumption in the industrial sector is showing record figures. Adding to the energy use is the scorching heat wave that's hit the country earlier than usual... with electricity usage in May and June higher than in any other month ever. According to KEPCO and the Korea Power Exchange,... electricity consumption in the first six months came to 269-thousand-432 gigawatts.... up 3-point-9 percent from the same period last year. It's not just the usage that's increased. Energy prices in South Korea have been impacted by rising global energy prices. The system marginal prices of energy surpassed the 15-cents-per-kilowatt mark for the first time this April... an increase of one-hundred-and-65 percent from the same time last year. The country spent 28-point-7 billion U.S. dollars on electricity in the first half of the year... 60-point-7 percent higher than the same time last year... and breaking the 23 billion dollar mark for the first time ever. Energy consumption is expected to break records in the second half of this year. The early heat wave has already pushed energy demand above the levels seen in the summer of 2018... which was the hottest summer on record. Lee Eunjin, Arirang News. #electricity #energy_price #energy_consumption 📣 Arirang News(Facebook) :   / arirangtvnews   📣 Arirang News(Twitter) :   / arirangtvnews   📣 News Center(YouTube) :    / newscenter_arirangtv   2022-07-11, 12:00 (KST)