<Anchor> This



is a friendly economic time.

Today (25th) I will be with reporter Han Ji-yeon.

Diesel prices are really going up.

Did you say that the national average exceeded 2,000 won?



<Reporter>



Yes, it is.

There are a lot of people who are afraid to drive these days. Actually, my car is also a diesel car.



So last week, I put oil in, and it came out about 20,000 won more than usual, which was a bit of a surprise.



At that time, the average price of light oil in Seoul had already exceeded 2,000 won per liter, but when I filled it with oil, it came out over 120,000 won like this.



Yesterday, the national average farm price was recorded at 2000.93 won per liter, but it is the first time that the national average has exceeded 2,000 won, and the highest price was 2,869 won.



Not only diesel but also gasoline yut prices are on an upward trend, but the current gasoline yut prices are not cheap.

At the same time, the national average is 1,994.77 won per liter.



The highest price is higher than the highest price of diesel and is close to 3,000 won.

There are also five regions that exceed 2,000 won per liter: Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungbuk, and Jeju.



<Anchor>



It seems that oil prices are really going up.

However, if you look at the price of oil, there are gasoline and diesel that you put in your car, but there are also basic fuels needed to generate electricity.

There must be crude oil, and coal and natural gas seem to be the raw materials for generating electricity, but they say that these prices are rising a lot now.



<Reporter>



Yes, the war between Russia and Ukraine is getting longer.

International fuel prices, which are used as fuel to generate electricity, are experiencing an unprecedented surge.



Dubai oil, which we mainly import, is now approaching $110, and the price of crude oil has risen by 156% compared to 2020.



Bituminous coal jumped more than 600%, and liquefied natural gas also jumped nearly 400%.



KEPCO buys electricity from power generators and then sells it to consumers. It purchases electricity based on the wholesale electricity price, that is, SMP. 



Of course, if fuel prices rise, SMP will inevitably rise.

Last month, SMP broke the 200 won mark for the first time and recorded an all-time high, which is 2.6 times higher than in the same month last year. 



In this case, KEPCO and consumers are inevitably burdened.



<Anchor>



So, it means that it costs more money to generate electricity.

Then, from the perspective of KEPCO, the deficit would inevitably increase, but KEPCO is already in the midst of a huge deficit.



<Reporter>



Yes, KEPCO, which recorded an all-time high of 8 trillion won in the first quarter, decided to introduce an upper limit on the wholesale price of electricity.



As for what this is, when the wholesale price of electricity purchased by KEPCO rises too abnormally, I cannot give more than this to the electricity seller.



This is a system that temporarily sets a price ceiling, which is set at 1.25 times the 10-year weighted average electricity wholesale price.



This will reduce the burden on KEPCO to some extent. This system is expected to be implemented from July after 20 days of administrative notice.



<Anchor>



Then, when the system called 'the upper limit system for wholesale electricity prices' is implemented, the question is what will happen to our electricity bills?

up, how is it?



<Reporter>



Yes, it's really hot these days.

Yesterday, the daytime high temperature in Seoul rose to 30 degrees, so many people are already turning on the air conditioner.



In fact, the easiest way for KEPCO to solve its deficit is to raise electricity rates.



However, it is quite burdensome for the government to raise electricity rates, which are directly related to inflation, in a situation where prices are rising like this.



Instead, if KEPCO's electricity purchase costs are reduced through this measure, the consumer burden is expected to be alleviated to some extent.



However, if the wholesale price is forcibly lowered, power generation companies that sell electricity will inevitably suffer damage.