"Sell Unused Materials"... KEPCO and Other Energy Public Enterprises Aim to Save Over 400 Billion KRW

Ministry of Industry and Energy Public Enterprises Launch 'Material Management Improvement TF'

Energy public enterprises have decided to establish improvement measures for the management of materials that are inappropriately stored long-term or unused, aiming to reduce costs for energy public enterprises. This is a measure to improve the financial status of energy public enterprises such as Korea Electric Power Corporation.

On the 3rd, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the first meeting of the 'Material Management Improvement Task Force (TF)' at the Seoul Coal Hall, attended by Lee Ho-hyun, Director of the Energy Policy Office, and vice presidents from 12 major energy public enterprises including KEPCO, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and Korea Gas Corporation.

Energy public enterprises store key repair materials considering the importance of materials and procurement periods for urgent recovery in case of related equipment failures. However, in a recent National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, it was pointed out that materials stored long-term for over three years amount to approximately 1.6 trillion KRW, and some materials are recorded in the books with a unit price of '0 KRW', indicating negligence in material management.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and energy public enterprises formed and activated a TF to conduct a full survey of the current status of material management in energy public enterprises (in November) and prepare efficient management measures, aiming to achieve cost savings of over 400 billion KRW (25% of currently long-term stored materials) by 2026.

According to the Ministry, the energy public enterprises attending the meeting shared and discussed various material management improvement measures including ▲ enhancing demand forecasting accuracy and integrated management of materials among similar power plants to minimize long-term unused materials ▲ improving accounting standards for unused materials ▲ establishing plans to promote recycling and resale.

At the meeting, Lee Ho-hyun, Director of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated, "In a situation where uncertainty in international energy prices is increasing, before discussing energy price adjustments, energy public enterprises need restructuring and management innovation at a level that the public can accept. As part of this, through the current discussion on material management improvement, unnecessary wasteful costs can be reduced."

The Ministry plans to prepare improvement measures for material management in energy public enterprises by the first half of next year after in-depth discussions through the operation of the material management improvement TF.

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