Carbon neutrality, electricity bill freeze exacerbating KEPCO's snowballing debt

Carbon neutrality, electricity bill freeze exacerbating KEPCO's snowballing debt By Kim Bo-eun The price freeze on electricity announced earlier this week is set to add to the snowballing debt of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation , at a time electricity generation has become increasingly expensive as the government has accelerated the shift to eco-friendly power. But the government came under fire as the latest price freeze is seen as a measure to cling to support ahead of the presidential election to be held in March next year. Accordingly, the Moon administration decided to bring up the percentage of renewable energy in power generation to 70 percent. According to the state-run firm, the average fuel cost for the months of September through November rose 61.6 percent year-on-year. The government, for the first time, raised fees by 3 won per kilowatt-hours in the fourth quarter of this year, but this only had the effect of canceling out the 3 won per kilowatt-hours that was lowered in the first quarter of this year. KEPCO had proposed a 3 won per kilowatt-hour raise in electricity costs in the first quarter of 2022, but the government decided against it.