Climate, Energy and Environment Ministry plans campaign to cut heat-wave energy waste

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said it will run a two-week campaign from Aug. 10 to 23 to curb energy waste without restricting cooling as sustained extreme heat and the post-vacation resumption of industrial operations raise power demand.

Working with the Korea Energy Agency, the ministry will stage street campaigns in 26 major shopping districts nationwide, including Myeongdong and Hongdae, to promote rational energy consumption.

The outreach will advise against open-door cooling and encourage switching off unused appliances and lighting, installing doors on refrigerators and replacing equipment with high-efficiency models. Open-door cooling requires about 1.7 times as much electricity for air conditioning, the ministry estimates.

The ministry will also distribute an energy-saving public-participation video called "The Strategy of Saving" through social media. "We will intensify public energy-saving messages linked to climate action to stabilize electricity supplies this summer," Park Deok-yeol, the ministry's director general for hydrogen and heat industry policy, said.

The lights-out event coincides with the 23rd Energy Day, designated by the Energy Citizens Solidarity to broaden public awareness of conservation after peak power consumption reached 47.4 gigawatts on Aug. 22, 2003.

A nationwide 10-minute lights-out event is planned for Aug. 22 at 9 p.m., including at Gwanghwamun, City Hall and the National Assembly Building. Civic groups in at least 10 regions will hold local energy-saving campaigns alongside it.