KT to enter electricity brokerage biz

KT employees demonstrate the firm's electricity brokerage system that will be used in its small-scale electricity brokerage business. / Courtesy of KT

By Jun Ji-hye

KT has completed development of its electricity brokerage system, equipped with the blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, to enter the small-scale electricity brokerage business, the firm said Sunday.

Small-scale electricity brokerage refers to a business in which a brokerage firm executes dealings of less than 1 megawatt worth of electricity, produced or stored by energy storage systems or electric vehicles (EV), in the power market.

Since it was selected in 2016 as a company that conducts a demo business, KT has developed the electricity brokerage system with small companies specializing in the generation of electric power.

The nation's biggest fixed-line internet operator and the second-largest mobile carrier plans to begin its small-scale electricity brokerage business in earnest as a bill to revise the Electricity Enterprises Act to introduce such businesses was passed in a National Assembly vote on May 28.

The firm said its system is capable of accurately predicting the amount of electric-generating as it applies the data analysis engine, e-Brain, of its energy management platform, KT-MEG, to the system. For example, e-Brain monitors situations of the use of electricity around the clock and manages the timing of an EV's electrical discharge.

The data analysis engine will maximize operational efficiency of the system and contribute to increasing revenue, KT said.

The firm's blockchain technology also enables it to transparently share the amount of electricity-generating with customers and calculate system marginal prices (SMP) in real time.

Forgery and alteration of the information is almost impossible using this technology, the firm said, noting that customers can simply be engaged in dealings with smart contracts.

The company stressed that it has greatly improved its algorithm for data verification and consensus in its block chain technologies.

“Blockchain technologies, which help raise the efficiency of multilateral arrangements, are suitable in the electricity brokerage business,” said Lee Mi-hyang, senior vice president of convergence business department at KT. “As we have applied such technologies to the new business, we expect the business people would not have thought would emerge.”

She added that the energy market is expected to be more open afterward, and this would make dealings between individuals possible.