The Korea South-East Power Co. has installed solar panels on a 6,600-square meter rice paddy in Goseong, some 460 kilometers south of Seoul. This photo is provided by the Korea South-East Power.
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The mandatory renewable portfolio standards (RPS) ratio for South Korea’s large-sized power suppliers will be revised upward from next year.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday that it had issued an advance legislation notice for the upward revision of the RPS ratio for large-sized power suppliers.
The RPS requires power suppliers with a capacity of more than 500 megawatts to produce a certain amount of power using renewable energy such as solar and wind power.
The RPS ratio was set at 2 percent when the system was introduced in 2012. Thereafter, the ratio has been revised upward on a step by step basis, reaching 9 percent this year. The ratio was originally scheduled to be fixed at 10 percent from 2022.
The revised legislation, however, stipulates that the ratio should be revised upward to 12.5 percent next year, 14.5 percent in 2023, 17 percent in 2024, 20.5 percent in 2025 and 25 percent in and after 2026.
If large-sized electricity suppliers fail to meet the obligatory RPS supply rate, they should purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) from small and medium-sized renewable energy power operators to offset the shortage.
For subsidiaries of the Korea Electric Power Corp., higher RPS costs could result in higher electric bills.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
