[On-Site Video+] "Industrial Fares Increase by 9.7% on Average..."Freeze for residential use"

[Anchor]
The government and KEPCO held a briefing on the increase in electricity rates.

We will connect to the site and hear how much electricity prices will rise.

[Choi Namho / Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy]
As a vice minister in charge of energy, I would like to say that I feel very heavy in talking about adjusting electricity rates today.

We have raised electricity rates six times over the past two years. Despite this increase, we actually have a surplus because of that adjustment.

Therefore, the cumulative deficit also decreased to 41 trillion won in the first half of the year, which had the effect of improving various financial conditions. However, it is still diagnosed as insufficient to achieve management normalization.

KEPCO still has a total of 203 trillion won in debt and 12 billion won in interest expenses per day, so it will be difficult not only to resolve the accumulated deficit but also to comply with the bond limit goals stipulated in the KEPCO Act without a separate rate adjustment.

In addition, as disputes in the Middle East have recently intensified, preemptive responses are needed even in such unstable external conditions.

KEPCO played a big role in the surge in international energy prices caused by the Russia-Ukraine crisis in 21 years by absorbing some of the public's burden through deficits or bond issuance, but we decided that it would be difficult to deal with another crisis in the future under the current financial conditions.

Based on this perception, the government decided that minimum rate adjustments were necessary. We comprehensively reviewed variables such as KEPCO's financial conditions and especially the ability of Korean economic players to bear the burden of people's livelihoods.

So we have come up with a plan to adjust electricity rates this time.

Following last November, housing and general rates were frozen again this time to prevent the burden on the general public and small business owners.

This adjustment has decided to increase the average single-digit increase rate of 9.7%, limited to industrial charges.

In addition, considering the burden of companies that are users of industrial rates, the government decided to differentiate the increase in rates for industrial packs mainly used by small and medium-sized enterprises and for industrial industries with a high proportion of large companies.

In the future, the government will do its best to resolve KEPCO's financial crisis and supply stable electricity while minimizing the burden on the people.

Thank you.