South Korea's electricity use hit a new record high again on Thursday as the country has been simmering in a weeks-long heat wave, the authorities said.

The maximum electricity load soared to 84.49 million kilowatts as of 3 p.m., breaking the previous record of 83.7 million kilowatts set on Monday, according to the state-run Korea Power Exchange.


The electric power reserve ratio went down to 8.5 percent, or 7.19 million kilowatts, marking the fourth single-digit ratio throughout the year.

If the figure falls below 5 million kilowatts, a state alarm is automatically issued.

The surge in electricity consumption came as the county has been suffering from sweltering heat for weeks, with Seoul's daily high having hovered around 33 C since last week and its daily low remaining over 25 C.

To curb the excess use of electricity, the government prohibited restaurants and shops from doing business with doors open while air conditions on As part of the government's efforts to curb the excess use of electricity, shops, restaurants and other commercial facilities will be fined up to 3 million won ($2,700) when they are caught leaving their front doors open with the air conditioning on. (Yonhap)