Electricity Bill Payment Deferral for Small Business Owners Nationwide for 3 Months Starting Today

Applications Start from the 8th via Homepage or Call Center

Due to the impact of COVID-19, the wrinkles of small business owners and self-employed people are deepening, and the kitchen street in Hwanghak-dong, Seoul, is quiet. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) announced that, in accordance with government policy, it will defer electricity bill payments for small business owners and vulnerable groups struggling due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) for the April to June period of this year by three months.

According to KEPCO on the 8th, the deferral will be implemented from this day for small business owners nationwide using residential (non-residential), industrial, and general electricity, as well as households receiving fixed welfare discounts from KEPCO (including persons with disabilities, grades 1-3 disabled veterans, independence activists, basic livelihood security recipients, and near-poverty groups).

For small business owners, the target includes businesses classified as small enterprises by industry with fewer than five regular employees (fewer than 10 for mining, manufacturing, construction, and transportation industries) and whose average sales over three years fall below the industry-specific criteria.

The payment deadline for customers who apply for the deferral will be extended by three months for the electricity bills covering April to June (three months). No late fees will be charged during the extended payment period.

Applications for payment deferral can be submitted from today until June 30. To apply for deferral for the current month's bill, the application must be submitted by the due date of that month. For example, if a customer's due date is the 25th, to apply for deferral for all bills from April to June, the application must be submitted by the 25th.

Applications can be made via the KEPCO website or call center (dial 123 without area code). Small business owners receive bills from KEPCO, but those with individual contracts who pay KEPCO directly must separately provide their business registration number and customer number.

Small business owners operating in traditional markets may submit an application verified by the merchants' association (city/provincial branch). Households receiving fixed welfare discounts only need to submit the customer number listed on the KEPCO bill.

Qualification verification criteria must also be checked. For contracted power of 20kW or less, KEPCO will apply the payment deferral immediately upon application based on its own judgment. Customers using electricity exceeding 20kW will have their small business confirmation certificate issued by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups verified before deferral is applied.

Small business owners operating in shopping complexes will have their eligibility verified based on the electricity payment amount for the application month. If the payment made to the management office for that month is 250,000 KRW or less, KEPCO will verify using the submitted business registration certificate. If it exceeds 250,000 KRW, the small business confirmation certificate issued by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will be verified before applying the deferral.

A KEPCO official stated, "Through this support, we expect to provide practical assistance such as easing the electricity bill burden for small business owners and vulnerable groups nationwide who have recently been struggling due to COVID-19, and it will greatly contribute to economic revitalization."

Meanwhile, since the 1st of this month, KEPCO has been providing electricity bill reductions for about 195,000 small business sites using residential (non-residential), industrial, and general electricity in special disaster areas such as Daegu, Gyeongsangbuk-do's Gyeongsan City, Bonghwa County, and Cheongdo County.

This project reduces 50% of electricity bills for six months from April to September this year (with a monthly maximum limit of 600,000 KRW). Applications can be submitted until September 30.

Earlier, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 31st of last month that thanks to this project, small business owners applying for electricity bill reductions are expected to save an average of 62,500 KRW per month. Over six months, this amounts to a saving of 375,000 KRW.