Tuesday, August 27th, 2013
SEOUL, KOREA - The ruling New Frontier Party and the government have decided on August 26 to come up with a new plan to reform the electricity rate scheme including that for industrial customers.
The New Frontier Party representatives said this in a meeting on the same day with policy makers at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy.
Earlier on the 21st, the ruling party and the government had agreed to simplify the rate scheme but the plan failed to mention the rate charged to industrial customers, which have been under criticism for profligate use of electric power even during hot summer months during which electric supply is especially tight.
Congressman Yeo Sangkyoo (New Frontier Party) said, "The latest revision was intended to complement the part that wasn't mentioned in the reform plan for residential customers."
According to a report "2012 Power Generation Performance" published by the Korea Power Exchange, the per-kilowatt-hour unit electricity price for residential customers was 112.6 won. In contrast, that for industrial customers was 92.84 won, giving a powerful disincentive for industrial users to save energy. The same report said the top-20 corporations consumed as much as 30 percent of electricity generated within the country.