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【Youth Daily】 Amid the government’s policy to reorganize the electricity rate system reflecting fluctuations in fuel costs in electricity rates each quarter starting in January next year, voices of concern are emerging from the industry .
The rate will drop next year as this year’s low oil price trend is reflected, but the industry is also concerned that the burden of the rate may increase as oil prices are expected to rise thereafter. You are doing.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy on the 18th, based on the average consumption of industrial electricity (9,240 kWh per month), the average cost of a company is 1.19 million won per month.
When the fuel cost index is applied, the utility bill in the first quarter of next year will be lowered by up to 28,000 won per month. In the second quarter of next year, it will be reduced to 46,000 won per month.
However, the problem is that in the next year, the effect of lowering electricity rates may decrease or rates may increase. Oil prices are expected to rise from next year.
The Korea Institute of Energy Economics predicted that next year’s international oil price will rise to $ 48.43, $ 6-7 more than this year, at the ‘2020 Oil Conference’. If the price of oil skyrockets and electricity rates rise sharply, the burden on manufacturing companies that use a lot of electricity, such as steel, semiconductors, and petrochemicals, will surely increase.
According to KEPCO’s Energy Consolidation Report in October this year, of the total electricity sales volume of 39,065 GWh in Korea, industrial sales amounted to 22,623 GWh, accounting for 58%.
With this in mind, the government has devised a protection device to limit the scope of the increase in electricity rates due to the increase in oil prices.
First, under the premise that the standard cost of fuel remains the same, the adjusted rate was increased or decreased by just 3 won per hour compared to the previous rate, and the upper and lower limits were set at 5 won. In particular, in exceptional circumstances, when oil prices rise sharply, the government plans to exercise its authority to defer rate adjustments.
However, the industry responded that even with such a device, it is not enough to solve the uncertainty in management immediately. It is a system that may be good only for a short time next year, but it may increase the burden of charges from next year, but it is not easy to propose a countermeasure immediately because there is no specific plan to minimize the burden.
Furthermore, the fact that the climatic and environmental tariffs included in the electricity bills will inevitably increase in the future will be a burden for companies.
Currently, the average monthly weather and environmental charges for businesses using industrial electricity are 48,000 won, which is 4% of the total electricity bill. In accordance with the government’s policy of expanding renewable energy, this rate is expected to continue to increase in the future.
On the other hand, the industry is concerned that an increase in electricity rates will lead to an increase in production costs, which inevitably bears the burden on consumers.
【Youth Diary = Reporter Lee Seung-gu】
