Merged Korea Power: How Large Will the New Generation Giant Be?

Power Generation Capacity Reaches 53 GW... Equivalent to About 38 APR1400 Reactors
Combined Assets of Five Companies: 67 Trillion Won, Over 13,000 Employees
Ranked 8th Globally (Excluding China)
Over 95% from Coal and LNG... Transition to Renewables Remains a Major Challenge

Just how large will "Korea Power," set to launch in October next year, be?

Looking at the global power market, there are large energy companies that operate tens of gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity, such as EDF in France and NTPC in India. In the US and Europe, there are also many electric utilities that operate power plants across nations or multiple regions. Similarly, Korea Power, which will consolidate the five state-owned power generation companies, will, at the moment of its launch, join the ranks of these large-scale global power producers in terms of size.

According to the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the power industry on September 26, the combined power generation capacity of Korea South-East Power, Korea Midland Power, Korea Western Power, Korea Southern Power, and Korea East-West Power under Korea Power will total about 53 GW. To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to the combined capacity of roughly 38 APR1400 nuclear reactors, which have a unit capacity of 1.4 GW and are currently the country's main nuclear technology. As of the 2025 financial statements, the five companies together will have assets of approximately 67 trillion won and more than 13,000 employees.

Upon its launch, the government expects Korea Power to become the world's eighth largest power company by power generation capacity, excluding Chinese companies. France’s state-owned electric company EDF operates about 126 GW of generating capacity, while India’s largest power utility NTPC exceeds 90 GW. Spain’s Iberdrola comes in at around 58 GW, not far off from Korea Power’s scale.

The similarities with these companies go beyond just sheer size. Examining the energy mix of these global players also reveals the challenges Korea Power will face going forward. EDF’s portfolio is centered on nuclear energy, while Iberdrola has a high proportion of renewable energy. In contrast, of Korea Power’s total 53 GW, about 32 GW comes from coal and about 19 GW from liquefied natural gas (LNG). Korea Power will need to manage the phase-out of coal-fired generation and the expansion of renewables simultaneously, making the restructuring of its 53 GW of assets an essential post-launch task.

This is precisely why the government has cited the expansion of renewables as one of the main rationales for merging the five power generation companies. Until now, each of the five has pursued solar and wind projects separately, but with integration, the new entity will pool its capital and manpower to undertake large-scale projects.

Major foreign power utilities are also pursuing similar changes. Iberdrola now has over 46 GW of renewable energy within its total capacity. Even NTPC, which historically grew on coal, is expanding its investment in solar and wind, targeting 60 GW of renewable capacity by 2032. For Korea Power, alongside its world-class scale, how it transforms its energy mix will be a vital issue.

Five Companies, Single Fuel Buyer

The immediate change expected from this larger scale is "economies of scale." Since the power sector was spun off from KEPCO in 2001, each of the five companies has operated its own plants and independently purchased fuels such as coal and LNG. Investments in power generation, overseas ventures, and renewable energy projects have also been handled separately by each company.

With the launch of Korea Power, these functions will be consolidated. The five companies will unify their procurement of power generation fuels, and decisions on investment in generation facilities will now be made by a single entity. The government expects that increased bargaining power will lower fuel costs while also reducing overlapping investments and competition between the companies.

This will create significant differences in large-scale project execution as well. Instead of each company separately taking on capital-intensive renewable projects like offshore wind and large-scale solar, resources and specialist staff can be concentrated in one place. In overseas power ventures, rather than the five companies independently competing, investments and business development will be managed at the integrated company level.

Integration More Complex than Power Plants... All 575 Systems Go Unified

However, simply changing the company signs does not mean integration is complete. Since their split in 2001, the five power companies have operated independently for over 20 years. HR, accounting, contracting, and IT systems have all been set up separately by company.

Currently, the five companies together operate 575 systems and software programs. Before Korea Power's official launch, it will be necessary to integrate core systems—including enterprise resource planning (ERP)—and unify standards for organization, HR, accounting, and contracting.

This is why the government is allowing roughly a year for preparations before the new entity's launch. A Joint Integration Committee, chaired by the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Climate, will oversee the process, with KEPCO and the five power companies participating in integration tasks spanning organization, HR, finance, and IT.

Once integrated, the organization will not focus solely on operating existing thermal power plants. The government plans for the new headquarters to house four main divisions: a Renewable Energy Division, a Just Transition Division, a Safety Technology Division, and a Planning & Administration Division, as well as establishing three to four regional renewable energy divisions nationwide. Korea Power will also oversee workforce redeployment arising from the phase-out of coal plants and develop new renewable energy businesses.

Given that this is the first combination back into one company in 26 years since the 2001 split, the stable integration of diverse organizations and systems will be critical to Korea Power's smooth transition. Kim Seonghwan, Minister of Climate, recently noted on the merger: "With 52 coal-fired power plants being phased out sequentially, the integrated power company should be seen not as a dominant market player in the energy sector but as an integrated organization for effective transition."

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