As a wildfire continues to spread in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province, authorities have suspended power supply to some transmission towers near the wildfire site to prevent damage. This is due to the potential for the wildfire to spread due to high-voltage lines, which could lead to significant damage such as large-scale blackouts.
According to the Korea Forest Service and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) North Gyeongsang headquarters on the 23rd, authorities suspended power supply to 20 out of 55 transmission towers located between the Anggye substation and Uiseong substation at around 1:40 p.m. on the first day of the wildfire on the 22nd.
Among the 20 transmission towers that had this measure taken, 17 have already been affected by the wildfire, while the remaining three are reported to be about 200 meters away from ongoing fire activity.
Authorities have indicated that this action was taken because if the wildfire passes between the transmission towers, abnormal high-voltage currents could damage the substations.
The Korea Electric Power Corporation North Gyeongsang headquarters stated, "We assessed the transmission tower site expected to be most severely affected, and the situation is not as serious as anticipated," adding, "Under the current circumstances, we believe that power supply to the relevant transmission towers can be restored in the future."