<Anchor> The
government has decided to pay more for companies that use a lot of electricity.
The problem is that such an increase in industrial electricity rates can affect production costs and lead to inflation. The government announced that it would launch a conservation campaign to reduce energy use this winter.
Next is reporter Jung Jun-ho.
<Reporter>
KEPCO has decided to increase electricity rates by up to 9.2 won per kilowatt-hour for companies that use a lot of electricity.
It is the first time in 9 years that KEPCO differentially adjusted industrial rates.
Samsung Electronics, the company that consumes the most electricity in Korea, paid 1.74 trillion won in electricity bills last year.
An increase in industrial electricity rates can increase production costs and fuel inflation, but KEPCO explains that an increase is inevitable as low-priced industrial electricity has been identified as the main cause of KEPCO's deficit.
At the same time, the government has set a goal to reduce energy use by 10% this winter.
Public institutions have announced that they will lower the heating temperature to 17 degrees and ban the use of personal heaters.
[Chu Gyeong-ho/Deputy Prime Minister of Economy: (Public institutions) We will implement the five winter energy saving practices such as limiting heating temperature and turning off landscape lighting, and strengthen the management evaluation of public institutions this year on the results.]
Companies in their 30s, which consume a lot of energy, have also ordered energy use reduction.
However, these measures do not significantly reduce KEPCO's deficit.
KEPCO is expected to lose more than 30 trillion won this year, and the Ministry of Industry predicts that it will be able to reduce the deficit by only one-tenth of the current rate increase alone.
In addition, if the war in Ukraine continues and unrest in energy supply continues, it seems inevitable that an electricity rate hike will be unavoidable next year.