North Korea is monitoring electricity usage in homes located in upscale high-rise apartments in elite neighborhoods of Pyongyang.
A Pyongyang source told Daily NK recently that the Pyongyang People’s Committee ordered residents to stop using electric heating at the beginning of May, when large amounts of power are needed in rural areas to support rice planting efforts.
Neighborhood watch units distributed orders signed by the people’s committee telling local residents of new high-rise apartments on Rimhung Street in Pyongyang’s Hwasong district and Jonwi Street in Sopo district not to turn on their electric heating or kitchen space heaters, even when it gets cold.
At neighborhood meetings, watch unit leaders reminded residents that Pyongyang citizens must lead by example in saving electricity if this year’s farming season is to succeed. “We’re incredibly fortunate just to be living in these new homes thanks to the generosity of Kim Jong Un and the Workers’ Party. We should all show a spirit of frugality and help the nation’s agriculture,” one neighborhood watch unit leader told local residents.
But as soon as the meetings ended, people began quietly grumbling and complaining.
The high-rise apartments on Rimhung Street and Jonwi Street were specifically designed for electric heating, and each unit’s kitchen has a designated spot for a space heater. Because of this, people view electricity not as an optional luxury, but as something they’re entitled to use.
Some people complained that the authorities were going back on their implied promise to allow electricity use, while others speculated that it would be okay to use a small amount of power when it was available.
But starting May 11, people’s committees in the Hwasong and Hyongjesan districts have been conducting surprise electricity inspections of high-rise apartment units on orders from the Pyongyang People’s Committee.
Inspectors call out those illegally using electricity
Inspection teams made up of neighborhood watch unit heads and local people’s committee officials spent three hours going around about ten towers, randomly knocking on doors when electricity was available.
Inspectors found evidence that electric heating and space heaters were being used in nearly all the units. The names of families caught in the act were then announced over the apartment intercom system.
The surprise inspections are ongoing. According to the source, a rumor is circulating in the apartment complex about the need to “be careful when there’s steady electricity in the evening, because that’s when the dreaded inspectors will show up.”
People are taking precautions against the inspections. Some are calling their neighbors to warn them about ongoing inspections, while others are sharing tips for avoiding detection.
“If the neighborhood watch unit head suddenly knocks on your door in the evening, don’t answer — that’s a sure sign of an inspection. Keep the lights off and pretend to be asleep,” one person advised.
