Korea Energy Agency Supports Energy-Vulnerable Groups in Wildfire Special Disaster Areas

The Korea Energy Agency is taking action to support energy-vulnerable groups in special disaster areas affected by wildfires.

On May 23, the agency announced that since April 28, it has been providing the "Energy Voucher Care Service" for 881 households classified as energy-vulnerable and residing in eight special disaster areas affected by wildfires.

On the 15th, at the site supporting energy-vulnerable groups in wildfire-affected areas in Ulju-gun, Ulsan Metropolitan City, Han Youngbae, Director of Regional Energy Welfare at the Korea Energy Agency (sixth from the left in the top row), and attendees are taking a commemorative photo. (Photo by Korea Energy Agency)

The care service utilizes social workers from the Energy Sarang Association and others to visit households, providing support such as issuing and processing voucher cards that can be used to purchase heating energy like city gas and kerosene. Since February this year, the agency has also been supporting improvements to heating energy usage environments, such as boiler replacement, in connection with the Korea Energy Foundation's "Energy Efficiency Improvement for Low-Income Households" program.

On May 15, agency executives and staff visited 16 households eligible for the energy voucher in Ulju-gun, Ulsan Metropolitan City, one of the wildfire-affected areas, to check for inconveniences related to energy use and provide guidance on the proper use of the energy voucher. In cooperation with Hana Bank, the agency plans to donate daily necessities and, through its "Home Boiler Safety Management Project," simultaneously support improvements to boiler flues and the installation of carbon monoxide detectors.

Han Youngbae, Director of Regional Energy Welfare at the agency, stated, "It was a very meaningful opportunity to visit and directly extend a helping hand to marginalized, energy-vulnerable groups." He added, "We wish for the swift recovery of residents in wildfire-affected areas and will continue to engage in sharing activities with local communities. We are also committed to establishing a more efficient energy welfare support system to ensure that no neighbors are left behind in energy welfare."

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