Preventing High Electricity Bills... KEPCO Launches Real-Time Notification for Progressive Rate Tiers

Notification Sent When Summer Usage Exceeds 360 kWh: Expected to Ease Electricity Bill Burden
Pilot Service for 2.3 Million Households, Expanding to 11 Million in December

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has introduced a real-time notification service to alert residential customers before they reach the third tier of progressive electricity rates, aiming to ease the burden of electricity bills due to increased air conditioning demand in the summer months.

KEPCO announced on July 21 that it will operate the "Real-Time Notification Service for Changes in Household Progressive Tiers," which sends a mobile alert when a customer's electricity usage reaches 80% of the threshold for the third tier of residential progressive rates.

Under the progressive rate system for residential electricity bills, the base rate and per-unit electricity charges increase once usage exceeds a certain level. For the summer, this service sends notifications when usage reaches 80% of the third-tier threshold (360 kWh out of the 450 kWh summer standard; for other seasons, 320 kWh out of the 400 kWh standard), allowing customers to adjust their electricity consumption in advance to avoid excessive use.

Notifications are sent via push messages to users registered on the "KEPCO ON" mobile app and via KakaoTalk notification messages to those not using the app. When customers click the alert, they are directed to the "Electricity Usage Diagnosis" page within KEPCO's energy-saving platform "Smart Electricity Life," where they can check their real-time electricity usage, current progressive tier, and estimated electric bill amount.

KEPCO will first run a pilot program targeting approximately 2.3 million households registered with "KEPCO ON." In December, the service will be expanded to about 11 million households equipped with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).

A KEPCO official stated, "We expect that by providing customized services based on real-time electricity data, we can alleviate the public's electricity bill burden and help stabilize the electricity supply by easing summer peak demand. We will continue to expand services that customers can tangibly experience, further enhancing public convenience in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.