Energy consumption to break records this year

Energy consumption for the first half of this year was higher than any previous half-year period. The current rate of the increase of energy consumption has overtaken the increase rate of the Gross Domestic Product, indicating a high degree of energy inefficiency.

In a report by the Bank of Korea concerning energy consumption and efficiency, the total energy consumed for the first half of this year reached 77 million TOE (about one-ton unit

of crude oil), an increase of 8.2% compared to last year`s 71 million TOE for the same period.

The energy consumption for the first half of this year was higher than the 1997 second half consumption of 74 million TOE, which was prior to the foreign currency crisis.

By category, energy consumption for home and business recorded the highest increase with 19 million TOE in the first half, which is a 11.2% increase from last year`s 17 million TOE.

The energy efficiency ratio, which was derived by dividing the increase in energy consumption by the GDP growth over the past 20 years, came to 1.1, showing that the growth in energy consumption has exceeded the rise in GDP.

A ratio higher than one represents faster growth in energy consumption compared to economic growth.

Accordingly, energy imports, which recorded 47.5% in 1970, have grown and have recorded 97% since 1996, making Korea completely dependent on imported energy sources. A source in the Bank of Korea stated that Korea should follow the example of Japan, which has a high energy import dependency but began implementing an energy frugality drive after the second oil shock. As a result, its ratio for the last 20 years stood at 0.66. In comparison,

Korea is an over-consumer of energy.