South Korean energy company KEPCO cut operating loss by 86% last year

South Korean state-owned energy group Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) reported an operating loss of 4.5 trillion won (CZK 78.2 billion) for last year. The loss was, however, significantly lower than the 32.66 trillion won recorded the previous year, as revenue rose on higher electricity prices and costs of sales fell in response to lower fuel and electricity procurement costs. This is according to the company’s report. KEPCO is the parent company of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), which is bidding to build a new unit at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant.

Revenue rose by around 24 percent to 88.2 trillion won, with electricity sales revenue up 25 percent even as sales volume fell by 0.4 percent. Costs of sales fell by 11 percent to 89.7 trillion won.

KHNP was founded in 2001 and is a state-owned company. It operates nuclear and hydroelectric power plants that account for almost 30 percent of energy supplies in South Korea. The company currently operates 24 nuclear units in South Korea and is building five more in South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. To date, it has been involved in the construction of 36 nuclear power plant units in South Korea and abroad.

In 2022, the Polish government selected KHNP as a partner to build the country’s second planned nuclear power plant. Energy journalist Piotr Macionżek told the strefainwestorow.pl website that KEPCO had debt of USD 151.8 billion (CZK 3.5 trillion) at the end of 2023. This means the company cannot issue new bonds because it has exceeded its debt-to-assets ratio limit, prompting it to take a series of extraordinary measures. Questions have also appeared in the Korean media about whether KEPCO can escape its current debt spiral.