KOWEPO President Lee Demands ‘Flexibly Adapting to Global Change Trends’

President Lee Jung-bok of Korea Western Power Co. (KOWEPO) takes the time to share and serve coffee and refreshments with executives, staffers, union members and cooperative companies at KOWEPO headquarters on his first day on Jan. 2.

President Lee Jung-bok of Korea Western Power Co. (KOWEPO) said on Jan. 2 “Let’s greet the year 2025 with an attitude of ‘yeosaechui,’” a Chinese saying meaning flexibly adapting itself of world change flows.

KOWEPO President Lee took the time to share and serve coffee and refreshments with executives, staffers, union members and cooperative companies at KOWEPO headquarters on his first day on Jan. 2.

In his New Year’s message broadcast over an in-house network, President Lee said, “This year is a period of significant changes, and we have to have a challenging spirit for not only its intrinsic roles of supplying power in a stable fashion, but also sustainable growth. I wish you will spend one year full of hope with an attitude of ‘yeosaechui,’” he said.

KOWEPO is a public power entity headquartered in Taean with some 2,500 employees, and is responsible for some 10 percent of the nation’s total power supply.

The power company is ceasing the existing coal-fired power plants or shifting to gas or hydrogen duel fuel generation plants in accordance with the government’s carbon neutrality plan.

KOWEPO management and labor held an event to pledge to ensure safety without serious disasters and accidents, while climbing the summit of Mt. Baekhwa near KOWEPO headquarters.

The power company had made a feat of achieving a record of no serious industrial disasters for the seventh consecutive year.

KOWEPO plans to redouble efforts to ensure safety with the goal of recording no industrial disasters this year.

KOWEPO President Lee Jung-bok poses with representatives from the Omani government and the French power company EDF-Renewables, including His Highness Bilarab bin Haitham Al Said and CEO Yaqoob bin Saif Al Kiyumi of Nama PWP, after the successful completion of the large-scale solar power plant project in Manah, Oman, on Jan. 20. (Photos: KOWEPO)

KOWEPO to Launch AI Q&A services on Operation of Power Facilities

KOWEPO has become the first Korean power group company to employ AI Q&A services, developed on its own, to the operation of its power facilities. The power company said it launched “WP-GPT,” a generative AI technology, on Jan. 20.

In early 2024, KOWEPO inaugurated a special body designed to build a generative AI system at its in-house work network and established a plan to implement it.

In June, the power company embarked on a project to build a generative AI system on power generation technology work and released WP-GPT seven months later.

The generative AI system finished a pilot operation program by learning 1,432 in-house documents during the development period and an additional of some 35,000 cases of Q&A data.

WP-GPT has been separated from outside communication networks in accordance with the National Intelligence Service’s safety guidelines on the use of generative AIs in order to block leakage of power information to cope with smart and advanced hacking trends.

The use of WP-GPT will lessen the workload of power plant facility officials and allow them to concentrate on value-added responsibilities, such as power generation facility analysis, on-the-spot diagnosis and safety management.

The generative AI system is expected to help freshmen employees with lower work proficiency levels carry out their duties.

WP-GPT can offer conversation Q&A services on maintenance, procurement, construction and safety sectors, and it is armed with an English translation function.

The power company plans to have WP-GPT upgraded so it can draft a power generation equipment management report, a purchase report and commissioned service/construction specifications.

KOWEPO plans to improve WP-GPT so that glitch factors may be analyzed and maintenance can be offered by learning power facility failure examples and maintenance/action cases.

KOWEPO President Lee Jung-bok said, “We will stand at a watersheds of digital innovation by establishing the generative AS service WP-GPT in keeping with the digital transformation era.”

“We will redouble efforts to build a digital ecosystem, such as the employing of digital twin technology to the Gimpo Combined Heat and Power Plant, Korea’s first Korean standard cogeneration plant, the divulging of data and supporting of startups through a digital technology sharing center,” he added.