The South Korean government has decided to increase electricity rates and gas prices by 5.3% starting in the second quarter due to high global energy costs and financial losses of state utility companies. The increase is $0.01(8 won) per kilowatt hour (kWh) for electricity and 1.04 won per megajoule for gas. These increases will result in an average rise of $2.20 (3,000 won) per month for a four-member household for electricity and $3.30 (4,400 won) for gas.
Industries minister Lee Chang-yang said the hikes were necessary given high global energy prices, specifically influenced by the Russia-Ukraine war and their impact on the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and the Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) — two state-run utility companies. KEPCO reported a record operating loss of $24.4 billion (32.63 trillion won) in 2022 and KOGAS had about $8.6 billion (11.6 trillion won) in uncollected payments as of end-March.
The South Korean government has decided to increase electricity rates and gas prices by 5.3% starting in the second quarter due to high global energy costs and financial losses of state utility companies. The increase is $0.01(8 won) per kilowatt hour (kWh) for electricity and 1.04 won per megajoule for gas. These increases will result in an average rise of $2.20 (3,000 won) per month for a four-member household for electricity and $3.30 (4,400 won) for gas.
Industries minister Lee Chang-yang said the hikes were necessary given high global energy prices, specifically influenced by the Russia-Ukraine war and their impact on the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and the Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) — two state-run utility companies. KEPCO reported a record operating loss of $24.4 billion (32.63 trillion won) in 2022 and KOGAS had about $8.6 billion (11.6 trillion won) in uncollected payments as of end-March.
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