KEPCO to freeze Q4 electricity rates

The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said Monday it plans to freeze electricity rates for the fourth quarter. KEPCO said it will keep the adjusted unit fuel cost -- a key part of the country's electricity rates -- unchanged at 5 won (US$0.003) per kilowatt-hour for the October-December period. However, the rate is still subject to an additional adjustment this year, as the government has been carefully reviewing options to raise rates, considering KEPCO's financial challenges. The company has frozen the quarterly rates since the first quarter of 2024 after raising them three times in 2023 amid mounting losses. As of the end of June, KEPCO posted a combined debt of 202.9 trillion won, up 440 billion won from December, as the company could not raise electricity prices enough to cover soaring fuel costs amid geopolitical risks. In response, the company has been implementing various self-rescue measures, including restructuring overseas operations, selling properties and offering voluntary retir ement programs. In August, Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun noted that the government will increase electricity prices after the summer ends. Source: Yonhap News Agency