Articles & Signals
Articles on K-RE100, KEPCO tariffs and CBAM
Explainers written for suppliers to Korean manufacturers, plus buyer and regulator announcements. 19 article(s) in total.
South Korea Energy Market Guide 2026
A practical guide to South Korea's industrial electricity tariffs, K-RE100, renewable electricity procurement, corporate PPA, carbon costs and energy decisions for global manufacturers.
Do "Power Saver" Devices Actually Cut a Korean Factory Bill?
The amount an electricity-saving device can cut through power factor improvement is, by regulation, at most 1.0% of the basic charge. Peak reduction has no effect for low-voltage customers. This piece covers the conditions under which the device actually works and how to verify results before and after installation.
How to Download Your Plant's Electricity Data from KEPCO
You can download 15-minute interval usage curves from KEPCO's PowerPlanner. Older data isn't kept indefinitely, so if you don't download it now, it can't be recovered later. This piece covers the gap between metered values and billed usage, and which month to check first.
Why Cutting Contract Power Often Fails to Cut the Bill
The basic charge drops in proportion to a lower contract power only for Article 68(2) customers, whose billing demand is set equal to contract power. For high-voltage factories, the Article 49(2) adjustment in the Implementation Rules keeps the reduction below expectations. This piece also covers the application form and the cost structure of re-expanding capacity within 3 years or 10 years.
Korea Redrew Its Time-of-Use Bands After 49 Years. The Grace Period Is Ending
From April 16, 2026, the time-of-use bands for Industrial (B) changed, making daytime cheaper and evening more expensive. Businesses that applied for the deferral must adjust their operating hours by September 30. This piece covers why shifting operating hours alone still moves the basic-charge peak, plus what to check on optional tariffs and power factor.
Off-Peak, Mid-Peak, Peak: Where You Shift Load Decides the Saving
Off-peak runs from 22:00 to 8:00 the next day, and peak runs from 15:00 to 21:00 in summer, spring, and fall. Under Industrial (B) High-Voltage A, Optional Tariff II, the peak unit price is roughly double the off-peak price, and peak load shifted to nighttime or holidays is also excluded from the basic-charge calculation.
Industrial (A) or Industrial (B): One Line on the Bill Changes the Arithmetic
Industrial electricity rates split into Industrial (A) for contract power under 300kW and Industrial (B) for 300kW or more. (A) and (B) have separately published rate tables, and the April 16, 2026 rate reform applied only to Industrial (B). Since contract power is set by equipment capacity, start by checking the contract type on your bill.
KEPCO Optional Tariffs I, II and III: Load Factor Decides Which Wins
Industrial optional tariffs let you choose between Option I, with a lower basic-charge rate but a higher energy-charge rate, and Options II/III, which are the reverse. Longer operating hours favor the later options, but don't decide by hours alone — recalculate all three tariffs using the last 12 months of actual usage and compare the annual totals.
Same 200,000 kWh, Different Bill: What Load Factor Does
Load factor is usage divided by maximum demand and the number of hours in the period. Even with the same usage, a lower load factor means a higher peak and a heavier basic charge, while a higher load factor favors optional tariffs with a cheaper energy-charge rate. This piece covers the formula and the order of improvement steps, with examples.
If You Still Think KEPCO's Power Factor Threshold Is 90%, It Changed
KEPCO's reference power factor isn't 90% — it's 92% lagging during daytime hours and 95% leading at night. For every 1 percentage point off the reference, the basic charge is adjusted by 0.2%; the discount is capped at 1.0%, but the surcharge can run as high as 7.0%. Based on Articles 42 and 43 of the Basic Terms of Supply, this piece covers the calculation method and the risk of capacitor overcompensation.
Your Basic Charge Is Billed on Billing Demand, Not Contract Power
The industrial basic charge is billing demand times the unit rate, not contract power times the unit rate. Billing demand is either the highest maximum demand among December, January, February, July, August, September, and the current month (with a floor of 30% of contract power), or contract power itself — which one applies depends on Article 68 of KEPCO's Basic Terms of Supply.
Contract Power vs Maximum Demand: Which One Can You Actually Manage?
Contract power is the equipment capacity you commit to in advance; maximum demand is the highest load actually recorded each month. This piece covers the two-track billing standard set out in Article 68 of KEPCO's Basic Terms of Supply, and the criteria for judging which of the two your factory should manage first.