Support for Small Business Electricity Bills Available with Just One Phone Call

Applications and submissions available at call centers from the 30th
Online applications continue... Up to 200,000 won

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 29th that from the 30th, applications for the ‘Special Electricity Bill Support Project for Small Business Owners’ will also be accepted through a call center.

An electric meter is installed in a commercial building in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Until now, applications for electricity bill support were only possible online, which posed difficulties for small business owners who were not familiar with the process. In such cases, they could visit the Small Enterprise and Market Service regional centers (77 nationwide) for assistance, but when it was difficult to find time even for that, some gave up or postponed their applications.

Accordingly, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to significantly improve these difficulties by starting call center reception. Small business owners wishing to apply for electricity bill support can contact the call center, where after a consultation and verification of basic information such as the representative’s name and business registration number, the application can be processed. There is no need to provide personal information such as account number, account password, or resident registration number separately.

The support targets are ‘businesses that were not closed as of February 15, the initial announcement date, and were opened before December 31 of last year,’ ‘businesses with sales under 104 million KRW based on the 2022 or last year’s National Tax Service VAT report (businesses with sales exceeding 60 million KRW but excluded from policy fund support sectors are also excluded),’ ‘those bearing business electricity bills (excluding residential use),’ and ‘individual or corporate business owners.’ The support amount is up to 200,000 KRW. Along with call center phone applications, electricity bill support can still be applied for online as before.

Hwang Young-ho, head of the Small Business COVID-19 Recovery Support Group at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “We have improved the application method for small business owners who were unable to apply due to unfamiliarity with online applications or lack of time to visit regional centers,” adding, “We will actively promote the system including on-site support so that more small business owners can receive support.”