By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Korea plans to be the world's first country to convert its electricity network into ``smart grids,'' but an investment of 27.5 trillion won (about $23.3 billion) will be needed for the plan to work, according to a government estimate.
A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using information technology, enabling devices to communicate with the utility firms, which could save energy, reduce costs and increase reliability.
Many governments that are looking at ways to improve energy independence and combat global warming issues are considering these futuristic electricity networks.
Korea plans to complete its high-tech nationwide electricity grid by 2030, which by then will help the country reduce its power consumption by 3 percent and cut greenhouse gas emission by about 150 million tons.
The transition to smart grids will also generate an industrial market of 74 trillion won and create 50,000 new jobs, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.
The changes will come with a hefty price tag. In a public hearing Wednesday, the ministry's taskforce on the national smart grid project forecast that the next-generation power network would require an investment of around 27.5 trillion won, with 2.7 trillion won from taxpayers, and the private sector coming up with the remaining 24.8 trillion won.
It will be crucial for the government to drive the efforts in developing core technologies, building infrastructure and helping create a market for newly developed products, ministry officials said. The level of private spending on the national grid, they said, will depend on how quickly that market grows.
``The creation of the national smart grid will put new energy into the economy by creating synergies from the convergence of the power and high-tech industries,'' said Eom Chan-wang, an official from the ministry's electrical power industry division, in the public hearing held at the headquarters of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) in southern Seoul.
``After completion, the smart grid will allow the country to spend 30 trillion won less in importing energy, and save 3.2 trillion won in cost that would otherwise be used for building new power plants.''
Although it's too early to guess how the Internet protocol (IP)-based electricity network will be designed or how it will affect the everyday lives of people, selected residents on Jeju Island will get the first glimpse of the changes.
KEPCO and 167 other companies are collaborating to build the country's first smart grid test bed on Jeju, a project that has currently drawn commitments for investment of around 239.5 billion won, including 68.5 billion won in planned government spending.
The participating companies include industrial heavyweights in technology, energy, machinery and engineering, such as LG Electronics, KT, SK Telecom, SK Energy, GS Caltex and Hyundai Heavy Industries.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
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