Checking Electricity Bills with AI, Predicting Solar Power Generation... KEPCO Accelerates Digital Transformation

KEPCO Drives Evolution into ICT-Based Power Company... Focus on 'Creating New Value through Data Utilization'

Korea Electric Power Corporation Headquarters Building

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] "OO, tell me the electricity bill from Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO)."

Mr. A used to visit KEPCO's website every month to check his electricity bill details separately. However, from now on, by using a Samsung smartphone equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) services, he can receive voice-guided information about his electricity bill simply by asking, without needing to access the website separately. Not only electricity bill inquiries but also credit card bill payments can be conveniently handled through AI voice recognition services.

KEPCO is promoting its evolution from a traditional power company to an ICT-based power company through digital transformation. In particular, it plans to leap forward as an energy platform provider by focusing on "creating new value using data."

According to KEPCO on the 15th, it is expanding customer-targeted power services and improving the efficiency of power system operation and management by integrating vast amounts of data with AI technology.

Starting this month, KEPCO has launched the first AI voice recognition customer guidance service among public institutions. Through Samsung smartphones equipped with 'Bixby,' an AI virtual assistant program based on voice recognition, customers can access various services such as electricity bill inquiries, credit card bill payments, moving fee settlement and payment, name change applications, electricity outage reports, customer center connection, and guidance to the nearest business office.

KEPCO stated, "With AI services, customers can now check power information or directly apply for civil complaints via voice on mobile devices anytime and anywhere," adding, "We plan to introduce various power services using voice AI to meet the increasing demand for non-face-to-face customer service environments and to implement mobile transitions and digital counters for customer contact operations."

KEPCO is also applying AI technology to predict solar power generation to improve prediction accuracy. Especially for renewable energy, where generation varies greatly depending on weather and seasons, accurate forecasting is crucial for stable power supply.

The AI-based solar power generation prediction technology developed by KEPCO analyzes the performance data of solar power plants and weather observation data using deep learning techniques to derive algorithms. When weather forecast data is input, the system predicts the power generation. To verify the commercial viability of this technology, KEPCO analyzed generation data from 152 solar power plants (totaling 9.3 MW) provided by Kepco Solar, a solar power company. As a result, it achieved over 95% accuracy in power generation prediction for the entire month of July. KEPCO and Kepco Solar signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to apply this technology to power plant operation systems and participate in the Korea Power Exchange's generation forecasting system, cooperating to strengthen stable grid operation.

Based on the solar power generation prediction technology, the Korea Power Exchange can improve its renewable energy generation forecasting capabilities, reduce costs related to additional generator start-up/shutdown and output adjustments caused by renewable energy variability, and enable efficient power system operation.

Additionally, KEPCO is collaborating with Samsung Electronics to develop new services focused on energy monitoring and saving functions for customers, as well as home energy services aimed at improving energy efficiency. The plan is to develop various services that enable energy savings by linking KEPCO's power data with Samsung Electronics' smart appliances and mobile devices.

A KEPCO official emphasized, "External factors such as the emergence of new competitors in the power industry due to advances in information and communication technology, decreasing demand growth rates, and evolving consumer needs are rapidly changing," adding, "We will actively pursue digital transformation in response to these changes and strive to become an ICT-based energy platform provider."