Power Outages in Apartments Increase Due to Cold Wave... KEPCO Provides Restoration Support and Temporary Power Supply

"Importance of Preventing Overload and Electrical Equipment Flooding in Winter"

Jeollanam-do Naju Korea Electric Power Corporation Headquarters. (Photo by Korea Electric Power Corporation)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] As power outages increased due to the severe cold wave, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) began restoration support and temporary power supply on the 8th.

KEPCO stated, "We have established and are operating a rapid restoration support system for power outages in apartments during winter," and added, "We plan to actively implement technical and restoration support to minimize inconvenience to the public."

Since December last year, KEPCO has been preparing and implementing measures to ensure stable power supply during the winter season.

In cases where power outages occur due to apartment electrical equipment issues, temporary power supply is possible, including support with emergency power generators if necessary.

When power outages occur in apartments due to the cold wave, contacting the KEPCO customer center (phone number=123) allows for restoration support and temporary power supply.

KEPCO emphasized that power outages frequently occur due to electrical equipment failures in apartments caused by the recent cold wave and urged strengthening safety management of the apartment's own electrical equipment.

From December last year to the 8th of this month, a total of 17 high-voltage apartment power outages were identified, caused by 3 circuit breaker failures, 1 transformer failure, and 9 cases of electrical equipment flooding.

According to KEPCO, apartment electrical equipment is connected with various devices such as circuit breakers and transformers to supply electricity to each household, making it essential for safety managers to strengthen equipment inspections.

In particular, apartments with insufficient transformer capacity must be more thoroughly monitored to prevent power outages caused by transformer overload due to increased heating loads in winter.

KEPCO stated, "Safety managers need to conduct electrical equipment inspections and check loads by time period, and if overload is expected, guide households to save electricity as a self-help effort."

KEPCO also introduced that to prevent power outages caused by transformer overload owned by apartments, they support replacement costs for aging transformers if customers meet the criteria and request it.

There are also frequent cases where power outages occur due to electrical equipment short circuits caused by damage and leakage in underground water pipes of apartments.

When electrical equipment is flooded due to leakage, not only devices such as transformers but also electrical wiring become wet, causing short circuits and requiring a long time for restoration.

KEPCO emphasized, "Electrical equipment should be managed to maintain a certain distance from water supply facilities as much as possible to prevent problems caused by flooding."