Electricity Rates to Rise by 7.4 Won in Q4... Monthly Burden of 2,270 Won for a 4-Person Household (Update)

The electric meter installed in a residential area in Seoul on the 19th, as the announcement on whether to raise electricity rates approaches. With prices of essential goods and energy soaring across the board, and even public utility charges such as electricity, water, and gas increasing, these have become major causes of rapid inflation, deepening the concerns of inflation authorities. If the government accepts Korea Electric Power Corporation's request for an electricity rate hike, there are concerns that the consumer price inflation rate, which has already recorded the mid-5% range, could exceed 6%. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) will raise electricity rates by 7.4 KRW per kWh starting next month. The average electricity bill for a family of four is expected to increase by 2,270 KRW.

KEPCO announced on the 30th that it has decided to add an additional 2.5 KRW increase per kWh to the previously announced base fuel cost increase of 4.9 KRW per kWh starting next month.

Accordingly, electricity rates for residential, industrial, educational, agricultural, street lighting, and nighttime usage will all increase by 2.5 KRW per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

For large-volume users, industrial general electricity rates will increase by 4.5 KRW per kWh for High Voltage A and 9.2 KRW per kWh for High Voltage BC, depending on the supply voltage.

For large-volume users, general and industrial High Voltage A rates will increase by 7.0 KRW per kWh, and general and industrial High Voltage BC rates will increase by 11.7 KRW per kWh.

In line with the intention to protect small-scale farmers and fishermen, large corporations are excluded from the agricultural usage category.

This increase reflects the recent rise in costs due to the surge in international energy prices.

The international liquefied natural gas (LNG) price, mainly used for electricity generation, was 35.1 USD per million Btu as of this month, soaring 8.0 times and 1.9 times compared to 2020 (4.1 USD) and 2021 (18.5 USD), respectively. In March, it even reached a record high of 84.8 USD.