Easier Electricity Bill Discounts for Vulnerable Groups... Gangdong-gu Completely Changes Procedures

One-Stop Processing at Once Without Separate Application
An Idea from District Office Staff Addressing Citizen Inconvenience

On the 17th, Gangdong-gu, Seoul held a one-stop support business agreement ceremony with Korea Electric Power Corporation Gangdong Songpa Branch for electricity bill reductions for vulnerable groups. (Photo by Gangdong-gu)

Seoul Gangdong-gu District (Mayor Lee Soo-hee) announced on the 18th that it will revolutionize the application process for electricity bill discounts provided to vulnerable residents by launching a one-stop support system that processes everything at once without a separate application.

Until now, vulnerable residents had to visit or call Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) directly to confirm their customer number and apply for the discount service to receive electricity bill reductions. If direct application was difficult, they could apply at the community service center or through the ‘Bokjiro’ website, but the process of verifying the customer number and proving vulnerability was complicated, causing delays in processing.

However, with this one-stop support, residents no longer need to apply separately to KEPCO. When a new vulnerable resident applies at the community service center, they only need to agree to the electricity bill discount, and the district office will verify the selection and registration status and submit a bulk application to KEPCO Gangdong-Songpa branch.

If confirmed as eligible for the vulnerable group electricity discount, residents can receive a differential discount on their electricity bills according to their welfare qualification. Basic livelihood security recipients and persons with disabilities receive up to 16,000 KRW per month, while the near-poverty group receives up to 8,000 KRW per month. During the summer months (June to August), when electricity demand is expected to be high due to cooling costs, the discount limits increase to up to 20,000 KRW per month for basic livelihood security recipients and persons with disabilities, and up to 10,000 KRW for the near-poverty group.

The one-stop electricity bill discount support project was born from an idea by a district office employee. In an idea contest held for employees by Gangdong-gu, the proposal to improve the procedure so that the electricity bill discount service could be applied for at once from the vulnerable group selection stage was selected as the best policy suggestion, and the project was realized through a business agreement with KEPCO Gangdong-Songpa branch.

Yoo Geun-seong, head of the Gangdong-gu Life Security Division, said, “We are working together with our staff to improve the inconveniences and difficulties of residents and reduce welfare blind spots,” and added, “We will continue to cooperate with the local community and public institutions in the district to provide welfare that residents can feel in their daily lives.”

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