South Korea’s market electricity demand reached 95.3 GW on Aug. 7, the fifth-highest level on record, as the government said combined market and behind-the-meter solar generation met about one-quarter of total daytime demand during the heat wave.
South Korea’s market electricity demand reached 95.3 GW at 3 p.m. (GMT+9) on Aug. 7, the highest level recorded this summer and the fifth-highest on record, the country’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE) said in a new analysis report published this week. Record heat drove the peak despite reduced industrial output during the summer vacation period.
The four higher peaks were 97.1 GW on Aug. 20, 2024, 96.0 GW on Aug. 25, 2025, 95.7 GW on July 8, 2025, and 95.6 GW on Aug. 19, 2024. Market demand would have surpassed 100 GW had industrial facilities not reduced operations for the holiday period, the ministry said. Total grid demand would have reached 106.8 GW.
The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said the city of Yangsan reached 42.5 C on Aug. 2, the highest temperature recorded since national observations began in 1904. The national average temperature for the first 10 days of August reached a record 29.1 C, according to KMA data cited by the ministry.
