[단독] KEPCO announces electricity rates for the second quarter on the 22nd… Possible increase in 7 years

[세종=뉴스핌] Reporter Eun-Seok Lim = KEPCO will announce electricity rates for the second quarter on the 22nd. Considering the rise in fuel costs in January and March, a slight increase of less than 3% is expected.

If the price of electricity increases this time, it is the second adjustment since the introduction of the non-fuel linkage system in December, and the first increase in 7 years and 4 months. As electricity rates were cut by 3% in 1Q, there will be no immediate burden, but as the possibility of a gradual increase in electricity rates is strong, the perceived effect will not be small.

According to KEPCO on the 16th, since the introduction of the fuel cost indexing system was announced in December last year, the first electricity rate reflecting the change in fuel cost every three months will be disclosed on the KEPCO website on the 22nd. The fuel cost index is a system in which electricity rates are raised or lowered every three months according to fluctuations in import prices of petroleum, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and coal.

An official from KEPCO said, “As the international oil price surges, the price of LNG and bituminous coal is expected to rise, leading to an increase in electricity rates.”

If electricity rates increase this time, it is expected to be symbolic in that it will increase in about 7 years and 4 months since November 2013. KEPCO increased 4.0% in January of that year and 5.4% in November.

KEPCO employees are inspecting the ground switch that supplies power to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [사진=한국전력] 2020.12.01 [email protected]

With the recent rise in international oil prices, domestic gasoline prices and LNG prices have been on the rise. Therefore, if the fuel cost index is applied, the increase in electricity rates is certain. According to the Korea National Oil Corporation, the average domestic gasoline price has risen for 16 consecutive weeks since the end of November last year. In the second week of March, the average value of gasoline at gas stations nationwide was 1498.6 won per liter (ℓ), up 15.6 won from the previous week.

Some wholesale rates for city gas also rose in March following January-February. According to the Korea Gas Corporation, wholesale rates for business heating, air conditioning, air conditioning, industrial, transportation, and other commercial and cogeneration, fuel cells, and city gas power generation increased by 1.0545 won per megajoule (MJ) from the February rate, reflecting the raw material cost indexing system. Residential and general use were frozen.

This is because LNG prices temporarily increased due to a sharp increase in the consumption of LNG, a city gas fuel, due to a record cold wave that struck across East Asia last winter. KEPCO is said to have prepared a safety device to prevent a sudden increase in electricity rates due to a surge in fuel costs, but it is bound to come back to the general household as a burden.

The safety device prepared by KEPCO is that the maximum adjustment width of the fuel cost adjustment unit price is limited to ±3 won/kwh compared to the previous quarter and ±5 won/kwh compared to the previous year. For example, the electricity bill for a four-person household using an average of 350 kWh per month is raised or lowered only up to 1,750 won multiplied by 5 won by 350 kWh.

However, considering that households with electricity rates of less than 200 ㎾h are 88.3 won per ㎾h, 182.9 won for 201~400 ㎾h households, and 275.6 won for households using more than 400 ㎾h, this is not a small proportion.

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