Seoul City Extends Support for 14,000 Eco-Friendly Boilers... "Priority Support for Vulnerable Groups"

Extended Until the End of September

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 1st that it will extend the subsidy application period for replacing household eco-friendly boilers by one month, from the original end of August to the end of September. This measure aims to increase the application period so that more citizens can receive support in the fall, as boiler replacements have decreased due to the summer season and strengthened COVID-19 quarantine measures.

The additional support volume this time is a subsidy for about 14,000 eco-friendly boilers. Citizens who wish to replace household boilers that have been in use for more than 10 years with eco-friendly boilers can apply through their respective district offices. Citizens who apply by the end of August will receive subsidies in September, and those who apply by the end of September will be supported in October.

This year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government's budget for eco-friendly boiler distribution was originally 7.56 billion KRW (for 37,000 units). The city started the support project in January but had to suspend it early at the end of March due to a surge in applicants exhausting the budget. Reflecting citizens' additional support requests in the July supplementary budget, Seoul secured 4.69 billion KRW (for 23,000 units) in July and has been providing additional support since July 14.

During the extended period, Seoul will prioritize support for vulnerable groups and facilities for marginalized communities such as private childcare centers and private senior centers, supporting boilers in order of oldest among those used for more than 10 years. If the number of applicants exceeds the quota, late applicants may not receive support.

Eco-friendly boilers emit less fine dust compared to general old boilers and have 12% higher thermal efficiency, enabling an annual cost saving of 130,000 KRW. Since 2015, Seoul has distributed about 390,000 eco-friendly boilers as of August 2021. This has resulted in reductions of 781 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 75,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Additionally, it saved 31.01 million cubic meters of city gas, enough for 52,000 households to use for one year.

Furthermore, in accordance with the Air Quality Management Zone Act mandating the installation of eco-friendly boilers, Seoul is replacing old boilers in public rental housing managed by SH Corporation with eco-friendly boilers separately from the subsidy support project. It plans to install 169,000 units without subsidies, including 13,000 early replacements of old boilers in public rental housing and 156,000 units installed due to mandatory installation in new constructions.

Moon In-gi, Director of the Green Energy Division, said, “Replacing old boilers with eco-friendly boilers not only reduces energy costs but also improves fine dust levels and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. We hope citizens planning to replace their old boilers will take a keen interest and apply.”

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