They found that around 70% of the power industry’s infrastructure fund (electricity fund), which is allocated to 3.7% of electricity bills, was invested in renewable energy support and research and development (research and development). Initially, the Electric Power Fund was intended to protect the socially vulnerable, supply power to remote mountainous islands, and support areas around power plants, but it is noted that it is being used excessively for projects such as renewable energy.
According to the annual business plan report of the Electric Power Fund Project Group under Korea Power Electric Corporation (KEPCO) on the 14th, the Electric Power Fund is responsible for △energy resource policy △revitalization of renewable energy and new energy industries △establishment of energy supply system △ energy technology development △ energy technology base expansion △ It is used in 90 spending projects in a total of 6 fields to strengthen the competitiveness of the electric power industry.
However, it was found that around 70% of the operating amount was focused on ‘renewable energy and energy industry revitalization’ and ‘energy technology development’ among the six areas. In the relevant business area, projects such as ‘support for the supply of new and renewable energy’ and ‘developing core technologies for new and renewable energy’ were the main content, and the amount invested was also large. As of last year, the total project cost of the electricity fund was about 2,899.8 billion won, and about 2 trillion won was invested in two areas.
In 2021, 5245 billion earned was invested in the ‘new renewable energy financial support (loan)’ business alone. Twice the total cost of the project (269.2 billion won) was in the area of ’energy resource policy’, including improving power efficiency (38.2 billion won), old transformer renovation support (1.6 billion won), and inspection of old apartment houses ( 3 billion won).
In the electric power industry, the dominant view is that the fund’s focus on specific projects is a result of the influence of the previous government’s nuclear phase-out policy.
In June 2021, Moon Jae-in’s government passed the ‘Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Electricity Business Act’, which compensates the cost of nuclear power plant projects that were closed or canceled in accordance with the power plant policy nuclear. Along with the revision of the law, business costs in the renewable energy sector have also steadily increased. The ratio of new and renewable energy projects, which accounted for 47.7% of the total project cost of 1.76 trillion won in 2016, increased to about 72% of the 2.9 trillion won last year.
Some of the power funds invested in solar power projects were exposed to unfair practices, such as issuing false tax invoices to inflate construction costs or building false cultivation facilities and receiving loans. As a result of a joint inspection of new and renewable energy support projects from September 2021 to August last year, the Government Policy Coordination Office revealed 2267 cases of unfairness and crimes worth 261.6 billion won.
