Reduce Electricity Usage and Get Cash Back... Promoting the 'Energy Cashback Project'

Ministry of Industry Holds 'Energy Cashback Pilot Project Agreement Ceremony' with Three Innovation Cities: Sejong, Naju, and Jincheon

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The government is promoting an 'Energy Cashback Pilot Project' that returns cash to consumers who reduce their electricity usage according to the amount saved.

On the 24th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held an 'Energy Cashback Pilot Project Agreement Ceremony' at Sejong City Hall, attended by the heads of three innovation cities (Sejong, Naju, Jincheon), the president of Korea Electric Power Corporation, and the representative of the Energy Citizens' Solidarity.

This project is a program that returns cash or other rewards for the amount of electricity saved when usage is relatively reduced compared to surrounding apartment complexes or households. It is a follow-up measure to the 'Energy Efficiency Innovation and Consumption Behavior Improvement Plan' reviewed and announced by the Energy Committee in December last year, starting with the three innovation cities and planned to expand nationwide in the second half of the year.

In this pilot project, if an apartment complex saves more electricity than the average reduction rate of all participating complexes, it will receive cashback ranging from 200,000 to 3,000,000 KRW according to the amount saved in each tier. Individual households within the apartment complex can also participate, and if they save more electricity than the average reduction rate of all participating households, they will receive cashback of 30 KRW per 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity saved.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, if citizens of the three innovation cities reduce their electricity usage by just 5%, approximately 34 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity will be saved annually. This is equivalent to reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during the production and disposal of about 220 million 500-milliliter (ml) PET bottles.

Minister Moon Seung-wook of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said at the agreement ceremony, "The fastest and most effective primary measure to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 lies in reducing energy consumption and improving efficiency." He added, "Efforts to save energy and improve efficiency, such as Energy Cashback, are key elements in reducing the costs and burdens of carbon neutrality and are paths that the nation, companies, and citizens can immediately practice." He continued, "I ask local governments, civic groups, and energy public corporations to unite and cooperate to expand this throughout citizens' daily lives by linking it with other national programs such as the Carbon Point System."

This project will proceed with applications and registrations from today until the 28th of next month, with cashback payments in June for savings achieved from February to May. Apartment complexes or households wishing to participate can apply through the KEPCO Cyber Branch.

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