[New Year's Address] Jeong Seung-il, KEPCO President, "Eliminate Cumulative Deficit by 2026"

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Jeong Seung-il, CEO of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), stated, "We will recover all accumulated deficits and unpaid bills by 2026 to restore the financial situation to its pre-crisis state."

In his New Year's address on the 2nd, CEO Jeong said, "We aim to return to profitability by 2024 at the latest and will carry out innovation and financial soundness plans without fail."

He emphasized that to achieve this, all means must be mobilized, including tariff adjustments, KEPCO's self-help efforts, and government financial support.

CEO Jeong said, "The process of normalizing tariffs began with adjustments to electricity consumption charges and climate environment charges in the first quarter of this year," adding, "There will be several stages of gradual adjustments to mitigate the shock." He urged that additional institutional improvements, self-help efforts, and government financial support are urgently needed.

Furthermore, he added, "As electricity tariffs gradually normalize, the burden on households and businesses will increase, so support measures must be strengthened to help electricity consumers use energy more efficiently."

CEO Jeong also emphasized that increasing consumption efficiency is the most cost-effective way to achieve carbon neutrality.

He said, "Let us actively explore KEPCO's role in reducing electricity consumption, shifting consumption times, and spatially dispersing large-scale electricity consumers," and evaluated, "Through this, the burden of new facility investments for our companies can be minimized, and facility operations can be optimized." Additionally, he mentioned plans to change the system so that all KEPCO services can be accessed via mobile by the first half of this year.

CEO Jeong stated, "It is not right to expect different results by repeating the same methods as before," and said, "Let us make this year a year of recovery and hope by making efforts different from the past."