"Join the Mission for Electricity Bill Discounts" SKT and Gwangju City Launch 'Green Rate Plan'

[Asia Economy Reporter Joselgina] SK Telecom announced on the 11th that it will launch the ‘Customer Participation Green Rate Plan’ service, which offers consumers discounts on electricity bills when they participate, in collaboration with Gwangju Metropolitan City.

The ‘Customer Participation Green Rate Plan,’ which can be joined at the apartment complex level, is a rate plan that allows customers to directly engage in electricity-related activities through an application, such as ▲electricity-saving activities by lowering indoor temperature ▲completing missions like solving electricity-related quizzes or gaining knowledge ▲power trading between households, and earn points that can be used to reduce electricity bills.

Selected in September 2019 as a project by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, it is being conducted as one of the future-oriented smart grid demonstration research projects with the cooperation of Gwangju Metropolitan City. The consortium includes SK Telecom, Nable Communications, Parang Energy, Sicoms, and Raon Friends. The SKT consortium selected seven apartment complexes including Bonchon Hyunjin Everbill, totaling 6,240 households, as demonstration sites in August last year, and is expanding service provision through the distribution of IoT electricity meters, smart plugs, and the service app (Akkime).

Within the consortium, SK Telecom is responsible for developing a housing type classification model using clustering techniques and a baseline model for residential customers, as well as providing electricity rate plan services to customers. Nable Communications is in charge of developing the electricity rate plan service web, Parang Energy is responsible for developing the Time-of-Use (ToU) service web/app, Sicoms is developing the Power Save rate plan service app, and Raon Friends is designing the ToU/Peak Time Rebate (PTR) program.

The project period is until September 2023. Gwangju Metropolitan City and the SKT consortium will verify the effectiveness of the rate plan-based new power service model, consumer responses, and evaluate the feasibility of commercialization considering the future private sector opening of the electricity market.

Shin Yong-sik, Head of SK Telecom IoT CO, said, "We launched the electricity rate plan not only to provide real benefits to customers amid the COVID-19 situation but also to contribute to ESG management through energy savings," adding, "We ask for active participation so that more customers can enjoy the benefits."

Son Kyung-jong, Director of the Artificial Intelligence Industry Bureau of Gwangju Metropolitan City, said, "Gwangju, aiming to be a mecca city for the new energy industry, is very interested in and supportive of the demonstration project," and added, "We request that residents in the demonstration complexes actively participate in this service to help determine the future direction of national electricity service policies."