Gov’t mulling ‘appropriate timing’ for utility price hike: ministry official

SEJONG, The government is seeking the "appropriate timing" to raise electricity and gas rates, the second vice industry minister said Monday, as state-run utility companies have been unable to increase costs sufficiently to address global market fluctuations. Second Vice Industry Minister Choi Nam-ho made the remark during a meeting with reporters, hinting that the government sees the need to raise public gas rates. Data showed earlier that the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) spent around 1.5 trillion won (US$1.09 billion) on paying off interest charges on loans in the first quarter. "KOGAS still remains under a deficit structure, with the amount of uncollected payments rising," Choi said, adding that KEPCO, on the other hand, is expected to post a surplus in the third and fourth quarters. KOGAS recently claimed that the current rates only compensate for around 80 percent of the purchase prices. KEPCO also noted that the company is expected to face hurdles in mai ntaining its infrastructure unless a price hike is implemented. Industry watchers expect the government to adjust gas prices when demand falls during the summer. As gas price adjustments occur every odd month, a rate hike could happen as early as July. Source: Yonhap News Agency