Jeonbuk Province Implements Deferred Payment for City Gas Bills for Small Business Owners and Vulnerable Groups

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Jeonbuk Province announced on the 14th that, in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, it will implement a three-month deferral of city gas bill payments starting this month in cooperation with Korea Gas Corporation and city gas operators to support overcoming COVID-19.

The deferral of city gas bill payments applies to small business owners using city gas and households eligible for residential rate reductions (socially vulnerable groups).

For eligible deferral recipients, the payment deadline for three months' worth of city gas bills starting from this month's billing (for those who have already paid this month's bill, the bills from May to July) will be extended by three months each, and no late fees will be charged during the extension period.

Additionally, for bills with extended payment deadlines, equal installment payments will be allowed from the due date until the end of the year to prevent the burden of payment from accumulating all at once.

Applications for the payment deferral can be made for one month from today until the 15th of next month, and consumers who apply within this period will receive the benefit of having their payment deadlines extended by three months for three months' worth of bills starting from the month of application.

Small business owners and households eligible for residential rate reductions (socially vulnerable groups) nationwide who use city gas can apply for the payment deferral through the call centers and websites of their respective city gas companies without visiting the gas company in person.

Households eligible for residential rate reductions do not need to submit additional documents, but small business owners must prepare their customer number and business registration number as listed on the city gas bill of their respective area.

City gas companies will verify the small business owner status and notify applicants whose eligibility is unclear, requesting submission of a small business confirmation certificate issued by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

For businesses requested to submit the confirmation certificate, those who need to newly obtain the certificate will be allowed to submit it within one month after the payment deferral application date to ease the burden of obtaining the certificate.

A Jeonbuk Province official stated, “With this measure, city gas bills can be deferred for three months without late fees (2%) and paid in installments until the end of the year, which will help alleviate the burden of city gas bills for small business owners and vulnerable households struggling due to COVID-19.”

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