It was confirmed on the 16th that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) applied to the government to compensate the cost of 727.7 billion won in the wake of the early closure of Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1. The Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 was decided to be shut down early in 2018 according to the Moon Jae-in government’s policy of ‘post-nuclear’ and was permanently suspended in December 2019. As a result, the passport criticized that “the enormous cost of the Moon Jae-in government’s nuclear-free policy has been paid for with the public’s blood tax.”
According to Kwon Myung-ho’s office, the People’s Power, in June, KHNP submitted an application to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to compensate the cost of Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 for 727.746 billion won. Initially, KHNP invested 555.5 billion won in equipment to obtain approval to continue operating Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 until 2022, and the cost of goods purchased for the operation of Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 was 14.6 billion won. . The People’s Power explained, “KHNP prepared to continue operating the Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant No. 1, but this cost occurred as the operation was halted in 2019 due to the Moon Jae-in government’s unilateral nuclear phase-out policy.”
The reason why KHNP was able to apply for cost compensation to the government was because of the decision made during the Moon Jae-in administration. In October 2017, the Moon Jae-in government announced the ‘Energy Transition Roadmap’ including the early shutdown of Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant No. 1, and the government decided to compensate for the cost of implementing the energy transition policy. Then, in June 2021, the government decided to amend the ‘Electricity Business Act Enforcement Decree’ to compensate for the sunk costs of nuclear power generation by using the Electric Power Industry Infrastructure Fund (electricity fund), thereby providing a legal basis.
The Electricity Fund is a kind of quasi-tax-type financial resource that is created by deducting 3.7% of the electricity bills paid by the public each month, and is mainly used to supply power to islands and remote areas. However, due to the revision of the enforcement ordinance at the time of the Moon Jae-in administration, the purpose was added so that it might be used to compensate for the loss of the nuclear power plant business due to the nuclear phase-out policy. This enforcement decree also served as the basis for KHNP’s application for cost compensation to the government this time.
KHNP has been operating its own ‘Wolsong Unit 1 Cost Compensation Task Force (TF)’ to apply for cost compensation following the Moonsong government’s decision to close Wolsong Unit 1 early as a result of the nuclear phase-out policy. After a resolution of the board of directors in June, an application for cost compensation of more than 700 billion won was submitted to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In response, Rep. Kwon pointed out that “the bills for the failure of the nuclear phase out policy are coming to the people one by one.
In accordance with KHNP’s application, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to determine the specific scope and scale of cost compensation following deliberation by the Cost Compensation Deliberation Committee. If it is decided to pay all or part of the cost, the cost will be deducted from the Electricity Fund. An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, “It is currently under internal review. After the resolution of the deliberation committee, if the government plan is finalized, the final cost compensation amount is determined following deliberation of the National Assembly budget.
In addition to Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1, KHNP is also planning to apply for cost compensation for Daejin Units 1 and 2 in Samcheok-si, Gangwon-do, and Cheonji Units 1 and 2 in Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, which have been suspended due to the Moon Jae-in government’s nuclear phase-out policy. KHNP, which was initially preparing for the new Daejin and Cheonji nuclear power plants, decided to close the two nuclear power plants in 2018. As a result, there is an observation that “there is a possibility that the public burden of the nuclear phase-out policy will increase.”
Reporter Lee Yoon-tae oldsport@donga.com
Sejong = Reporter Park Hee-chang ramblas@donga.com
