Small Business Owners' Energy Burden Reduced with Expansion of 'High-Efficiency Equipment Support Project'

750 Billion KRW Support for High-Efficiency Devices and 15 Billion KRW for Installing Doors on Open Refrigerators
Food Store Refrigerator Door Installation Support Project Announced and Open for Applications Starting the 15th

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 14th that it will expand the high-efficiency equipment support project to alleviate the energy cost burden on small business owners and fundamentally support energy savings. The budget for high-efficiency equipment will be significantly increased from 30 billion KRW in 2023 to 75 billion KRW in 2024, and the budget for open-type refrigerator door installation will be expanded from 10 billion KRW in 2023 to 15 billion KRW in 2024.

First, a budget of 15 billion KRW will be allocated to the refrigerator door installation support project, with the announcement posted and applications accepted on the 15th through 'KEPCO:ON'. As in 2023, the support targets are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), small business owners, or equivalent non-profit organizations (cooperatives) that remodel or replace existing open-type refrigerators in food stores with door-type refrigerators or purchase new door-type refrigerators. The support amount is 259,000 KRW per square meter of installation area (about 40% of the cost). Applicants wishing to receive support must prepare the application form and supporting documents (SME or small business owner verification certificate), door glass performance proof, before-and-after site photos, installation (purchase) proof, etc., and apply online via KEPCO:ON or visit or mail the application to the local KEPCO branch.

The high-efficiency equipment support project will also allocate a budget of 75 billion KRW, expanding the supported items from one item (cooling and heating devices) to four items: cooling and heating devices, washing machines, dryers, and refrigerators. Support will be provided for the purchase of new Grade 1 products. The support conditions and limits will be announced through KEPCO:ON at the end of February. However, applications will be accepted from the end of March after all preparations are completed, and customers who purchased this year will be retroactively supported if they meet the support conditions.

Choi Yeon-woo, Director of Energy Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "We expect that the expansion of this high-efficiency equipment support project will contribute to alleviating the cost burden on small business owners and fundamentally reducing energy costs, so we urge small business owners to actively participate." He added, "We will continue to actively strive to provide more tangible support for small business owners in improving energy efficiency."