Record heat in August drives up electricity bills for 7.1M households

The average electricity bill for households across South Korea increased by 7,500 KRW last month compared to the same period of last year, driven mainly by soaring demand for air conditioning amid record-breaking tropical nights. On Monday, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) reported that the average household electricity consumption in August rose to 363 kWh, a 9% increase from 333 kWh in August 2023. As a result, the average household electricity bill climbed to 63,610 won, up 13.4% from the previous year's 56,090 won.

The sharper bill rise is attributed to South Korea’s progressive electricity pricing system, which imposes higher rates as consumption exceeds certain thresholds. For July and August, household electricity rates are tiered into three brackets: under 300 kWh, between 300 and 450 kWh, and above 450 kWh, with steeper rates for higher usage. Approximately 76.2% of households experienced higher bills compared to last year, with 38.6% of households (9.73 million) seeing an increase of less than 10,000 won, while 28.2% (7.1 million) faced increases of between 10,000 and 30,000 won.

Notably, 5.69 million households, accounting for 22.6% of the 25.22 million households, saw their bills decrease last month. "Based on last month's average household usage, electricity bills in Japan and France are more than twice as high as in Korea, while those in the United States are 2.5 times higher, and in Germany, they are three times higher," a KEPCO spokesperson said.


Do-Hyong Kim dodo@donga.com