Korean Federation of SMEs Expresses Stance on Industrial Electricity Price Hike
“Calls for Mid-to-Long-Term Energy Transition Support Measures”,
Panoramic view of the Korean Federation of SMEs ⓒKorean Federation of SMEs, ‘[Dailian = Reporter Hwang Jihyun] On the 23rd, the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector expressed concerns regarding the government’s increase in industrial electricity rates.’,
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, ‘The Korean Federation of SMEs issued a statement saying, “We understand the government’s stance that normalizing electricity rates to address KEPCO’s severe accumulated deficits is inevitable. However, considering the challenges faced by SMEs due to the recent domestic demand downturn and economic recession, the issue of cross-subsidizing industrial rates, which the SMEs sector has consistently demanded, remains unaddressed,” adding, “It is regrettable that while residential and general tariffs are frozen, only industrial electricity rates have increased.”‘,
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, ‘Furthermore, according to a recent survey by the main assembly, 93.0% of small manufacturing enterprises felt burdened by industrial electricity rates, and 74% responded that their operating profits decreased due to the rate increase. The hike could further deteriorate the business environment for SMEs, which depend on electricity for 79% of their energy, and root SMEs, in particular, are highly concerned about severe business deterioration as electricity costs account for nearly 30% of their manufacturing costs.”‘,
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, ‘They emphasized, “We urge the immediate preparation of support measures for the long-term energy transition of SMEs, including a fee restructuring for root SMEs reflecting seasonal and time-based rate adjustments, the swift legislation of a bill to include electricity charges in the scope of the delivery price linkage system, and the expansion of incentives for replacing high-efficiency equipment and improving energy efficiency.” ‘