Seoul to compensate for power outage damages

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy announced Sunday that those who sustained damages in Thursday’s blackouts can file for compensation from Tuesday.

Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Joong-kyung said that claims can be filed at Korea Electric Power Corp. offices, support centers for small merchants, Small and Medium Business Corp. and its branches and Korea Industrial Complex Corp. from Sept. 20.

The ministry said that affected businesses and individuals will be compensated after the reported damages are reviewed by a panel that will include representatives from KEPCO, Korea Power Exchange, lawyers and consumer groups. 

In announcing the measures Choi also hinted that he will take responsibility and that he is willing to step down once related issues are addressed. At the press briefing on Sunday, he said that his duty is to focus on finding the cause of the blackout and to develop preventative measures without being “attached to the position.”

Choi also said that the government decided to set up a team to improve electricity-related emergency protocol and “fundamentally” improve related systems at a meeting of concerned officials presided over by Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik.

Regarding the rolling blackout, Choi said that the ministry could have prevented such occurrences if reports had been made as late as noon by shutting down air conditioning systems at large buildings and requesting cooperation from the public.

While the ministry seeks ways of preventing similar occurrences and compensating those affected by last week’s outages, voices calling for those responsible to step down are rising, with Choi at the top of the list.

Cheong Wa Dae is reported to have added its weight to calls for Choi’s resignation. Unnamed officials from the presidential office were quoted as saying that there was agreement at a meeting presided over by Yim Tae-hee, the presidential chief of staff, that Choi should take responsibility.

With the pressure mounting, Choi is widely expected to hand in his resignation soon, less than a year after he took up the post in January.

Thursday’s unprecedented blackout has raised severe criticism at the highest levels of the government.

On Friday, President Lee Myung-bak made a visit to Korea Electric Power Corp. to be briefed about the previous day’s situation, where he criticized the companies and demanded a clear explanation of what each company did wrong.

Saying that KEPCO was operating at the level of an “undeveloped country,” Lee said that the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, KEPCO and the Korea Power Exchange are all responsible for the developments.

Lee also criticized employees of state-run companies, which are highly popular among job seekers for their high pay and strong job-security, saying that they generally lack a sense of duty.

While politicians call for those in charge of related matters to take responsibility of Thursday’s developments, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy conducted an audit on Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Power Exchange.

The two-day audit, which took place over the weekend, was aimed at identifying the cause of the power shortage and shedding light on the two companies’ responses, as well as drawing up measures to prevent recurrences.

On Thursday, the unseasonable heat drove up electricity consumption far beyond the authorities’ projections, forcing KPX to implement a rolling blackout lasting 30 minutes in some areas. According to KEPCO and other concerned organizations, the authorities had expected that Thursday’s power consumption overshot the projected 64 million kilowatts by more than 3 million kilowatts. In addition, 23 generators going into scheduled maintenance also contributed to the power shortage.

With the KPX limiting power supply, hundreds of thousands of households across the country experienced blackouts while some industrial complexes were brought to a standstill.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)