45 out of 69 export-leading items
Rep. Han Moo-kyung points out, “If electricity rates rise, we will lose competitiveness in the global market”
[투데이에너지 김병욱 기자] Concerns have been raised that if electricity rates rise, the industry as a whole will suffer a fatal blow.
According to the data obtained by Rep. Moo-kyung Han of the Small and Medium Venture Business Committee of the National Assembly, the number of Korean items that occupied the No. 1 market share in the global export market in 2019 were 69 items. Among the energy-intensive industries, chemical products and steel and non-ferrous metals accounted for 65% with 45 items.
The problem is that the sectors corresponding to 45 items, including 27 chemical products and 18 steel and non-ferrous metals, are energy-intensive sectors, and even slight fluctuations in electricity rates have an immediate impact on the entire industry.
According to the 2019 KEPCO statistics, “Sales Power Trend by Manufacturing Industry,” the petrochemical, primary metal, and assembly metal sectors saw an increase of 68.2% compared to 2005.
Petroleum and chemical industries were 33,994 GWh in 2005, but in 2019, 28,377 GWh increased to 62,371 GWh, an increase of 83.5%.
The primary metal industry increased 49.3% to 42,001 GWh from 28,128 GWh, and the assembly metal industry increased 70.5% to 9,231 GWh from 5,412 GWh.
On December 17 of last year, the government announced a plan to reorganize the electricity tariff system based on the fuel cost indexing system, which reflects fluctuations in fuel costs used for electricity production in electricity rates, and began to take effect from January 1st.
The industry predicted that if expectations for an economic recovery, such as corona vaccine vaccination, increase, oil prices will rise in earnest.
When oil prices rise, electricity rates that fluctuate according to fuel costs are also inevitable, so industrial electricity rates actually rise.
In addition, as the government’s rapid expansion of new and renewable energy promotes aggravated increase in electricity rates, it is pointed out that the flagship industry will suffer a blow and eventually give up the No. 1 position.
Rep. Han Moo-kyung said, “In the case of major export industries that consume a lot of electricity, the cost burden is expected to increase due to the reorganization of the electricity rate system based on the fuel cost linkage system.” It is an obvious situation that will lead to the fire,” he emphasized.
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