Government to Publicly Disclose Real-Time Electricity Usage Data

Electricity Usage Data of 583 Institutions Including KEPCO, Power Generation Companies, and Korea Energy Agency to Be Disclosed

On the 1st, when record-breaking heatwaves are expected nationwide, officials at the Power System Operation Center of the Power Management Department, Gyeonggi Regional Headquarters of Korea Electric Power Corporation in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, are closely monitoring the rapidly increasing power supply and demand situation. This year's power consumption recorded 92,500 MW, an increase of about 8,000 MW compared to the same period last year, which corresponds to the power output of eight nuclear power plants. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Electricity usage information of public institutions such as Korea Electric Power Corporation will be disclosed to the general public.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 3rd that the "Public Institution Electricity Usage Monitoring System (Public Institution Green Button)" will be made available to the general public starting from the 4th.

The Public Institution Green Button is a platform that allows users to check each institution's real-time electricity usage not only by hour, day, and month but also by seasonal periods when energy consumption is concentrated, such as summer and winter. This is the first time that energy usage information of public institutions is shared with the public in real time.

To establish a foundation for public institutions to independently promote energy efficiency, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, together with related organizations such as the Korea Energy Agency and Korea Electric Power Corporation, installed AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) devices in each building and developed and applied APIs (mechanisms that allow software to communicate with each other) to build the system.

The energy consumption data collected in the Green Button serves as basic data for institutions to establish and implement energy-saving measures, and the Ministry uses it to promote energy demand management policies, such as checking energy savings in the public sector during summer and winter seasons.

The Ministry will initially implement this for 583 institutions and plans to gradually expand it in the future. Additionally, information on gas and heat usage will also be included.

An official from the Ministry stated, "With the release of this system, not only will it aid the government in establishing energy policies, but private companies such as energy diagnosis and ESCOs are expected to analyze the energy consumption information of public institutions and create new business markets."

The Ministry plans to gradually expand the scope of disclosed energy usage in the future. Furthermore, gas and heat usage will also be included in the disclosed information.