▲ Rows of air conditioner outdoor units
South Korea's summer air conditioning usage surpasses that of major developed countries including Japan, yet the electricity bills borne by households remain among the lowest globally.
According to Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) on Wednesday, South Korea's per capita cooling electricity consumption was recorded at 191.5 kWh (kilowatt-hours) based on 2022 data.
While this is about a quarter of the U.S. figure of 766.2 kWh per capita from 2020, it is high compared to other major countries excluding the United States.
In particular, South Korea's usage is 1.2 times higher than that of Japan (160.2 kWh as of 2024), which has a similar summer climate.
The gap widens further when compared with other major nations.
South Korea's per capita cooling demand is 1.5 times that of Italy (123.8 kWh as of 2024), 2.4 times Spain's (81.4 kWh), and 5 times France's (38.5 kWh).
It is a staggering 12 times higher than Germany's (15.9 kWh).
This is analyzed to be due to South Korea's hot and humid climate characteristics, which require longer air conditioner operation times, unlike Europe's dry summers.
Although air conditioner usage is among the highest of major nations, the summer electricity bills paid by citizens were found to be at the lowest level.
Based on an analysis using last year's average power consumption of 419 kWh for a four-member South Korean household during July and August, South Korea's electricity bill was 77,760 won, the cheapest among all 7 comparison countries.
As a result of KEPCO applying the tariff systems of major overseas power companies—such as Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Company, Électricité de France (EDF), and the U.S. Southern California Edison (SCE)—to the same consumption amount, the monthly electricity bills paid by households in other countries ranged from 1.4 times to up to 3 times that of South Korea.
By country, Japan stood at 165,983 won, reaching 2.1 times that of South Korea.
This means South Korea's electricity bill is at about half the level of Japan's.
The U.S. reached 193,848 won (2.5 times), and Germany approached about 3 times at 230,149 won.
France and Australia were also 2.1 times higher than South Korea at 163,609 won and 163,746 won, respectively.
Hong Kong, which has relatively inexpensive electricity bills, was also at 1.4 times that of South Korea with 108,441 won.
According to an analysis of average global electricity prices from 2023 to this year by international energy price site GlobalPetrolPrices.com, South Korea's residential electricity rate stood at $0.127 per kWh, ranking 81st out of 144 surveyed countries.
Most major overseas countries, including Italy ($0.414), Germany ($0.406), Japan ($0.227), and the United States ($0.188), had more expensive electricity rates than South Korea.
Among OECD member countries, only Canada (83rd), Hungary (90th), Mexico (91st), and Turkey (112nd) had lower residential electricity rates than South Korea.
However, while the absolute level of electricity bills is low, a progressive pricing system is applied to residential electricity, meaning that if usage exceeds a certain amount, the rate of increase in the bill can grow.
A KEPCO official stated, "Despite having one of the highest levels of cooling demand among major countries, South Korea maintains very inexpensive electricity rates to minimize consumer burden." The official added, "However, as increased air conditioner use pushes monthly consumption beyond 450 kWh, the tier-3 rate and basic fee are applied together, causing a sharp increase in the bill. Therefore, households with high power consumption need to exercise special caution when using air conditioners."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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