By Kang Yoon-seung
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), the main electricity supplier in the nation, announced Wednesday that it will lift electricity prices for large companies and divest some of its assets to address its mounting losses.
KEPCO said, yet, it will keep power prices unchanged for households and small and medium-sized firms taking into account the high inflation rate.
The new rates, effective Thursday, will raise the average cost by 10.6 won (US$.01) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for “large-capacity” industrial uses, the company said in a statement.
“Considering the high inflation and borrowing costs that households and self-employed individuals are facing, we have decided to freeze rates for them and adjust the rate of increase,” KEPCO said in a statement.
The company has been under pressure to raise electricity prices as it has suffered accumulated deficits of 47 trillion won.
This file photo, taken June 19, 2022, shows electricity meters at a building in Seoul. (Yonhap)
“We plan to review the rate adjustment by closely monitoring global energy prices and foreign exchange rates,” it added.
The company had previously increased the electricity rates by 5.3 percent on-year for households in the second quarter, or 8 won per kilowatt hour (kWh), following a 13.1 won increase per kWh in the first quarter.
As part of its cost-cutting measures, KEPCO has also revealed its plans to divest assets, which will include properties and stakes.
KEPCO will sell 20 percent of the stake in its wholly owned subsidiary KEPCO KDN Co., an ICT service provider, as well as its entire share of 38 percent in the Philippines’ Calatagan solar energy project.
The company added it will also sell its 640,000-square-meter plot in northern Seoul, including its education and training facility.
Additional cost-cutting measures involve optimizing the organizational structure by merging similar divisions and downsizing the workforce by 700 employees by 2026.
The latest self-rescue measures came on top of the previous plan announced in May to save 25 trillion won over the next five years.
This file photo provided by KEPCO KDN Co. on Sept. 17, 2020, shows the company’s headquarters in Naju, 286 kilometers south of Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
colin@yna.co.kr
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