Due to the ongoing violence in Libya and excessive use of oil last winter, there has been a sudden increase in the price of oil. Foreseeing a serious energy crisis, the Korean government took action by raising the energy alert level from “alert” to “caution” on February 27, warning the nation of possible energy deficiency in the near future. Subsequently, the government created strict policies to reduce energy use countrywide and unfortunately, KAIST is not an exception.

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) created a specific list of methods to efficiently save energy. The goal of MEST is to limit the use of unnecessary energy and promote the new energy saving policy to people, while making sure it is carried out under the condition that education and research activities are not disturbed.

The guidelines presented by the government that was sent to KAIST via MEST can be broken down to mainly eight elements. These will be implemented by KAIST, following specific plans for each guideline. The guidelines and plans are as follow:

Save energy by appointing Energy Saving Administrators to check daily energy use
The school has five students and one public agent going around the school to check and reduce unnecessary use of energy. They will make sure that offices and laboratories reduce personal heating devices and turn off unnecessary lights and electrical devices.

Turn off decorative lights
Decorative lights used for displaying purposes such as the Carillon, Jang Yeong-sil statues will be turned off. Building indicator signs will be turned off as well.

Leaving the car at home once every five days
School faculty and students are encouraged to leave their cars at home once every five days. Or even better, they are encouraged to use school-provided commuter buses or public transportation such as buses and subways.

Turn off unnecessary outdoor lights except for security lights
Campus guide sign lights that indicate what building it is will be turned off. Also street lights will be turned off except those serving as security lights.

Turn off night activity lights at sports facilities after 8:00 p.m
Tennis courts and soccer field lights will be turned off after 8:00 p.m. However, the stadium lights will be turned off after 6:00 p.m.

Reduce the use of elevators by half
For buildings which have one elevator, the elevator will not be shut down. However, for buildings which have more than two elevators, the usage will be reduced by half.

Install more Peak Control Units and stop heating for one hour during peak hours
The heating will be stopped for one hour during 11:00 to 12:00 p.m. and 17:00 to 18:00 p.m. Energy Saving Administrators will monitor the Peak Control Units and control the electricity load.

The 25th Student Council, Urinuri filed an official complaint that the school should modify their plan to accomodate for KAIST's unique campus culture. The most representative examples are clubs that practice during the night, and this change in policy has become a serious problem for them, having nowhere to practice due to the new policy. Urinuri asked why the lighting cannot be turned off during the day and turned on at night instead. However, since the government policy specifically requires buildings to turn off lights after 8:00 p.m., their request was not accepted.