South Korea’s energy basic unit is four times higher than Ireland, which ranks first among OECD states for energy efficiency. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Jul. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea, which ranks as one of the worst Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries for energy efficiency, needs to raise the price of electricity in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to experts.
The KEPCO Management Research Institute recently reported that the nation ranked 33rd out of 35 OECD states with an exorbitant energy basic unit of 0.159.
Energy basic unit refers to the primary energy consumption rate required to generate added value that is equivalent to US$1,000 of GDP. It is used to measure the level of energy efficiency of a country.
The higher the value, the lower the efficiency of the energy consumed.
South Korea’s energy basic unit is four times higher than Ireland, which ranks first among OECD states for energy efficiency.
“Germany, England, Japan and other advanced nations have been slowing down in terms of electricity consumption since 2010, while South Korea has been continuing to use more electricity,” said the institute.
The institute referred to low electricity bills as a major factor leading to the overconsumption of electricity and energy inefficiency, and called for the need to raise prices to meet appropriate levels.
The price of liquified natural gas (LNG), a widely used energy source to generate electricity, is heavily influenced by the fluctuating oil price. However, electricity bills in South Korea don’t seem to reflect such changes.
The institute called on the government to introduce various policies to raise the price of electricity to prevent overconsumption and boost energy efficiency.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
