Government to Audit 30GW of Delayed and Speculative Power Projects, Reclaim Occupied Grid Capacity

Authorities are stepping up inspections of delayed and speculative power generation projects that have reserved grid capacity without making actual progress.

The move aims to resolve issues where such projects occupy the power grid, preventing power plants that are ready to generate electricity from connecting to the network.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) announced that they have revised the Regulations on the Use of Transmission and Distribution Electrical Facilities, which will take effect on July 20.

Once the revised regulations are in force, projects that fail to apply for grid access within one year of obtaining a power generation license, as well as projects that do not sign a relevant contract within one year of applying for grid access, will be subject to annual progress reviews through licensing documents.

If a project fails to apply for grid access within one year of receiving a generation license, the grid connection timeline reviewed at the time of licensing will be voided. Similarly, if a contract is not signed within one year of the grid access application, the application will lose its validity.

The timeline for reviewing project progress after a grid access contract is signed has been shortened from two years to one year.

The revised regulations also include a provision allowing project operators who receive notice of contract termination following a progress review to file an objection within 30 days of the notification date.

To use the power grid, operators must first obtain a generation license, apply for grid access, and then sign a contract.

Currently, progress reviews only begin two years after a grid access contract is signed, leaving projects in the pre-contract stage in a regulatory blind spot.

The scale of power projects in this blind spot is estimated at approximately 30GW (gigawatts). The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment plans to conduct progress reviews on these projects by September in accordance with the revised regulations.

The ministry intends to prioritize the allocation of the grid connection capacity secured through these reviews to operators who are ready to generate power.

The revised regulations can be viewed on the KEPCO website (online.kepco.co.kr).

(Photo: Provided by Korea Electric Power Corporation, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.