Solar power generators angered by 'unreasonable' grid limitations in Korea

Operators of mini photovoltaic plants on Jeju Island and their supporters rally in front of the Gwangju District Court, June 8, protesting against allegedly illegal grid limitations enforced on their plants repeatedly over the past years. Courtesy of lawyer with knowledge about the matter

By Ko Dong-hwan

• Published Jun 15, 2023 2:54 PM KST
• Updated Jun 16, 2023 3:52 PM KST

Jeju PV plant owners challenge country's giant energy operators

By Ko Dong-hwan

A group of mini photovoltaic (PV) plant operators has filed a lawsuit against the country's energy ministry, an energy powerhouse and an exclusive power exchange market, after suffering what they claim was an excessive number of “illegal” grid limitations resulting in their financial losses.

Operators of 12 PV plants on Jeju Island filed a suit in the Gwangju District Court on June 9 against the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korea Power Exchange (KPX) and the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) which distributes over 93 percent of the energy in the country.

The plaintiffs were backed by private organizations ― the Korea Solar Energy Development Association (KOSEDA) and a solar power business association.

The self-claimed victims of a series of grid limitations ― a regular operation that limits output on power grids to prevent excessive supply and maintain grid stability ― at the hands of the country's biggest power controllers have caused a stir in the country's still immature renewable energy market.

They argue that it is an emerging problem for the country on its path to carbon neutralization by 2050 alongside other countries like the United States, China and European Union member nations.

The business operators say they understand the need for grid limitations in keeping the country's power grids safe, but what they cannot understand is why the country's biggest power controllers had to carry out the measure so unprofessionally and unfairly.

“The current grid limitations have no legal basis or procedure,” the PV plant operators said during a rally in front of the court, June 9.

“That gave us no chance to predict when or to which plant operator the limitations will affect. We are simply being forced to bear the brunt of the limitations without knowing when or to whom they are coming.”

The plaintiffs demanded notifications of when grid limitations will be carried out in advance. The notifications are sent to them via a smartphone text message or through KakaoTalk. But many times they have received the messages with only a few minutes left until the notified time of the measure's initiation. Some notifications have even come after the measure began. In either case, they were caught by surprise. They said that advance notification is critical for them so they could have enough time to prepare for the measure's effect on their businesses.

The plaintiffs also complained that whenever a limitation took effect, they didn't know why or how long it would last. They said such lack of basic information robs them of the predictability they critically need as energy providers.

The fact that the limitations took effect only on renewable energy plants on Jeju Island also provoked the plaintiffs who said resulted in an “unjust sacrifice” on their part.

The accused parties, which are de facto key players of power distribution in the country, must do all they can to keep the grid stable and the burden should be shared by all, not solely by small business owners like themselves, the plaintiffs said.

“Grid limitation was first introduced in the country in 2015 but right now we are only talking about the damage done after October 2022 until last May based on the evidence we have,” a lawyer with knowledge about the matter told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.

“Each plaintiff experienced the limitations from once to as many as 36 times during the period. If we had included cases beyond that period, we could count many more.”

One of the plaintiffs who kept records said his power plant was blocked by grid limitations 23 times in 2022 and 42 times this year alone until May 25. He said his financial losses amounted to over 40 million won ($32,000) altogether.

The Korean government proclaimed it will eliminate 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2018 levels. To do so, net zero carbon emissions are necessary as is a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. To expand the use of clean energy sources, access to unrigged and transparent grids as well as a predictable market environment for clean energy plant operators are prerequisites, the plaintiffs said.

“We believe that KPX and KEPCO have been executing grid limitations only on smaller renewable energy power plants because it was the most convenient method for them to keep the current grid stable while keeping nonrenewable energy power plants in the country undisrupted,” the lawyer said. Coal and nuclear power still feed most of the country's entire power grid.

Power grid on Jeju

The KPX said it recently enforced grid limitations on renewable energy power plants on Jeju Island in spring and last fall when power demand was generally comparatively low and supply from renewable energy plants sometimes became too much.

“Believe me, grid limitation is our last resort to keep the grid safe,” Park Moon-chul, a communication official from the KPX, told The Korea Times.

“But despite other methods, we currently run for that matter such as energy storage systems, improving local power grids and the demand-response (DR) market, as well as lowering a bottom power limit for coal-fired power plants, grid limitation sometimes becomes necessary.”

The KPX is on top of the chain of command when it comes to executing grid limitations, according to Moon Jin-ho from the Power Grid System Innovation Division under the energy ministry. He said that the KPX has its own standardized regulations to decide which powers plant should bear a grid limitation.

Moon admitted that after checking with KEPCO's Jeju branch, grid limitation pre-notifications to PV plant operators on the island happened to go out late. He said that's because power supply and demand on the island's grid tends to fluctuate too abruptly and is hard to predict in advance.

He pointed out the tiny size of the island's power grid compared to the country's mainland as an inherent problem that causes difficulties in maintaining stability.

“Compared to the mainland, Jeju has seen much more grid limitations. The mainland has seen only two grid limitations this year,” Moon said.

“Because of its smaller land size than the mainland, Jeju has a power grid where supply and demand fluctuate easily. It's hard to stabilize the island's grid with only a limited number of power stations there. On the mainland, however, with so many power plants, the job is much easier.”