Electrical Safety Inspections, Periodic On-Site Visits → Transition to Continuous Non-Face-to-Face and Remote Monitoring

Government Approves 'Partial Amendment to the Electric Safety Management Act' at Cabinet Meeting... Project Cost Savings of 149.1 Billion Won

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The government is shifting the electrical safety inspection method from the existing manpower-centered face-to-face system to a digital-based continuous, non-face-to-face, and remote inspection system.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that the "Partial Amendment to the Electrical Safety Management Act," which includes this content, was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 14th and promulgated on the 21st.

Until now, the electrical safety inspection method has been conducted over the past 50 years by electrical safety corporation employees visiting and inspecting face-to-face once every 1 to 3 years. However, due to changes in lifestyle such as the increase in single-person households and the spread of COVID-19, this method has become unsustainable.

Accordingly, to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of electrical safety management, the government introduced the 'Remote Inspection System,' which establishes grounds for replacing current regular inspections or adjusting the timing of regular inspections by utilizing remote inspection devices during inspections. Additionally, a 'Control Center' will be installed and operated for efficient management such as computerized processing of data measured through remote inspection devices.

The government plans to pilot the operation of remote inspection devices targeting approximately 2.15 million public electrical facilities such as streetlights, traffic lights, and CCTV by 2024, and then gradually expand to multi-use facilities, aging facilities inhabited by vulnerable groups, and others.

Through this transition in electrical safety inspection methods, the government expects to save approximately 149.1 billion KRW in cumulative electrical safety inspection project costs covered by the electricity fund from 2022 to 2028.

Furthermore, the government will facilitate the early establishment of a new electrical safety management system through research and development (R&D) for related national standards establishment and electrical disaster risk prediction technology development. After 2025, the plan is to advance the system by linking remote inspection devices with Korea Electric Power Corporation's intelligent remote metering infrastructure (AMI) and expanding related infrastructure.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "With the introduction of the remote inspection system, owners and residents of electrical facilities can obtain real-time electrical safety information, enabling active participation by all citizens in the safety management process. We expect to improve public institution operational efficiency by reducing electrical safety inspection project costs and reallocating labor-intensive inspection personnel to high-skilled inspection and management roles."

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