Just Changing the Electricity Contract Method Saves Costs... Free Consulting on Apartment Management Fee Reduction by 'Seoul Energy Designer'

Comprehensive Survey of Energy Consumption in 3,846 Apartment Complexes with Customized Saving Consulting
Tips Provided Including Appropriate Electricity Rate System, Meter Reading Date Change, and LED Replacement for Common Area Lighting

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 3rd, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will provide free energy consulting through the ‘Seoul Energy Designers’ to help citizens reduce electricity bills and apartment maintenance costs, as well as lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Seoul’s apartments consist of 3,846 complexes with 1.63 million households, accounting for 42.8% of Seoul residents living in apartments. The electricity consumed by apartments amounts to approximately 6,273 GWh annually, which is equivalent to the power generated by a 1GW coal power plant in one year. The ‘Seoul Energy Designers’ will visit all 3,846 apartment complexes in Seoul to conduct a comprehensive survey of energy consumption and contract methods, and provide consulting on smart ways to reduce apartment maintenance costs.

They will investigate electricity, water, and heating usage, contract methods, meter reading dates, eco-friendly facilities, and equipment in the apartments. Based on the results, they will offer various useful tips to reduce not only common area electricity bills but also individual household electricity bills, such as adjusting meter reading dates, replacing LED lighting in common areas like underground parking lots, upgrading to high-efficiency pumps, and using first-grade electronic appliances and eco-friendly boilers.

In particular, since apartment complexes have shared facilities used by multiple households, they use electricity billing systems based on contracts. Changing the contract method alone can reduce electricity bills by over 100 million KRW annually, so the consulting will encourage contract changes. The electricity billing contract methods for apartment complexes are divided into single contract, comprehensive contract, and individual household contract. The ‘single contract,’ which applies residential high-voltage rates, is often cheaper than the ‘comprehensive contract,’ which applies different rates for households and common areas.

Accordingly, Seoul plans to provide consulting on electricity bill comparisons based on contract methods to complexes using comprehensive contracts (721 complexes out of 2,687 surveyed) and recommend switching to the single contract method. The city will analyze monthly electricity usage data from 2020 to June 2022, comparing fees under comprehensive and single contract methods, and provide reports calculating the most advantageous contract method and potential savings for each apartment complex.

Analysis of electricity bills for Apartment A in Gangseo-gu (643 households), which uses a comprehensive contract, showed that if a single contract had been used, approximately 33.76 million KRW could have been saved annually in 2020 and 43.1 million KRW in 2021. Apartment B in Gangdong-gu (4,066 households) is also expected to save over 150 million KRW annually by switching from a comprehensive to a single contract.

Yoon Jae-sam, Director of the Environmental Citizen Cooperation Division, said, “Energy consulting by Seoul Energy Designers for apartments is expected not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also to lower electricity bills, easing maintenance cost burdens for residents.” He added, “We will continue to provide energy consulting for small and medium-sized buildings to contribute to reducing building greenhouse gas emissions.”

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