About 200 electricity experts and industry officials from Korea and abroad attended the Seoul International Conference on the Electricity Market 2012 (SICEM 2012) at COEX InterContinental Hotel in southern Seoul on June 13.

Some 20 foreign experts from the United States, France, Singapore, India, and other countries were on hand at the eighth SICEM.

The conference was held under the theme “Climate Change and Supply-Demand Uncertainty” in the wake of the unprecedented rolling blackout incident that hit the nation last Sept. 15 and the implementation of a greenhouse gas emission trading system in Korea. Four foreign speakers on the theme gave their presentations and engaged in active discussions with participants. 

Koo Ja-yoon, chairman of the Korea Electricity Regulatory Commission (KOREC), said in his congratulatory speech that for Korea, a nation which imports 97 percent of its energy needs, energy supply and consumption efficiency is urgently required, and the rolling blackout incident of 2011 was blamed on a failure to advance an energy supply and consumption mechanism to the levels corresponding to the nation’ s economic scale. 

Dan Woodfin, director of System Operations Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), gave a presentation on a rolling blackout incident that occurred in Texas in February 2011 and the steps to cope with a shortage of electricity. Woodfin said Texas has also been facing a difficult situation in which a stable supply of electricity has not been guaranteed since 2005, since the city failed to take countermeasures to address climate change and a rise in electricity demand. 

The Public Utility Commission of Texas, ERCOT, and other stakeholders have made rule changes to address the situation, including an upward readjustment of the scarcity pricing cap in the wholesale market and other options, such as one to allow new generators such as energy storage systems to enter the electricity markets, he said.

Jean-Francois Conil-Lacoste, chairman of EuroPex, the Association of European Power Exchanges, released a report that shows that people have a positive attitude toward nuclear power despite Germany’ s policy to abandon nuclear power and expand a supply of new and renewable energies in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident. He introduced EuroPEx, comprising of France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, which is evolving into a single united power market. 

Michael Waters, the head of the climate change section at the British Embassy in Seoul, introduced the UK’ s countermeasures against climate change. He said the United Kingdom considers new and renewable energy, nuclear power, and clean fossil fuel as the top three future power producers, and it is striving to innovate the power market with the top three goals of low-carbon in the electricity field, a stable supply of power, and price stabilization.

Prof. Yoon Won-cheol of Hanyang University, the last speaker of the conference, maintained that the Sept. 15 rolling blackout incident was owed to low electricity pricing, which induced overconsumption. He called for a realization of electricity charges. Yoon cited a lack of a price signal system and irrational pricing, which induces power overconsumption, coupled with a mismatch of power supply and demand and unnecessary regulations, which could cause another disaster, and demanded Korea promote proper countermeasures against such disasters. 

Prof. Yoo Sang-hee of Dongui University officiated at a panel discussion, which had an active Q&As session.  

Prof. Noh Jae-hyung of Kunkook University Electric Engineering Department claimed that Korea should introduce market-friendly steps including scarcity pricing and incentive options to the construction of new power plants, as does Texas. #