ID :
211283
Wed, 10/05/2011 - 11:24
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/211283
The shortlink copeid
Damage claims from massive blackout amount to W61 bln
SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Yonhap) -- Nearly 9,000 individuals and businesses have sought a combined 61 billion won (US$51 million) in compensation for damages from the recent massive power outages that led to the resignation of the energy minister, the government said Wednesday.
A total of 8,962 damage claims were filed as of Tuesday when the government stopped receiving applications after two weeks, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, which handles the country's energy affairs.
The government earlier said damages would not be too great as most of large businesses have their own backup generators.
Even then, the amount is less than what had been expected, considering more than 2 million homes and buildings across the nation were cut off from power supplies for up to several hours on Sept. 15 due to what an investigation from the prime minister's office later called "mistakes and miscalculation" by the government.
The ministry said out of all claims filed as of Friday, about 51 percent were claims seeking less than 500,000 won in damages.
South Korea's sole electricity service provider, Korea Electric Power Corp., and its state-run power distributor, Korea Power Exchange, said the country's electricity reserve levels had shrunk to 3 million kilowatts, forcing them to manually lower power consumption by cutting off supplies to millions of homes.
Prompting a further public uproar, the ministry later charged the two organizations with submitting a false report and said the reserve levels had actually fallen as low as 800,000 kilowatts, which could have caused a nationwide blackout.
Choi Joong-kyung, minister of knowledge economy, last week offered his resignation, which was promptly accepted by President Lee Myung-bak.
The government has yet to decide on the size or scope of its compensation for damages, but a ministry official said it will "not be full reimbursements."
"They will only be compensated for a certain ratio of their damages to be set later," said Kim Sang-ho, an official from the ministry's electric power division.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
A total of 8,962 damage claims were filed as of Tuesday when the government stopped receiving applications after two weeks, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, which handles the country's energy affairs.
The government earlier said damages would not be too great as most of large businesses have their own backup generators.
Even then, the amount is less than what had been expected, considering more than 2 million homes and buildings across the nation were cut off from power supplies for up to several hours on Sept. 15 due to what an investigation from the prime minister's office later called "mistakes and miscalculation" by the government.
The ministry said out of all claims filed as of Friday, about 51 percent were claims seeking less than 500,000 won in damages.
South Korea's sole electricity service provider, Korea Electric Power Corp., and its state-run power distributor, Korea Power Exchange, said the country's electricity reserve levels had shrunk to 3 million kilowatts, forcing them to manually lower power consumption by cutting off supplies to millions of homes.
Prompting a further public uproar, the ministry later charged the two organizations with submitting a false report and said the reserve levels had actually fallen as low as 800,000 kilowatts, which could have caused a nationwide blackout.
Choi Joong-kyung, minister of knowledge economy, last week offered his resignation, which was promptly accepted by President Lee Myung-bak.
The government has yet to decide on the size or scope of its compensation for damages, but a ministry official said it will "not be full reimbursements."
"They will only be compensated for a certain ratio of their damages to be set later," said Kim Sang-ho, an official from the ministry's electric power division.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
