An overall view of KOMIPO’s Boryeong Thermal Unit 3, which set a record of

 5,000 consecutive days of trouble-free operation. (photo: KOMIPO) 

Korea Midland Power Co. (KOMIPO) is one of the nation’s six power subsidiaries of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), which accounts for 11 percent of the nation’s total power generation facility capacity. KOMIPO now not only operates the Boryeong Thermal Power Complex, the nation’s largest thermal power unit, and four other thermal power complexes, but the company is also eager to strengthen its presence overseas, as it has built and has been operating the Girebon power plant in Indonesia. It is the first time Korea has exported its own ultra super-critical pulverized coal thermal power plant overseas. 

World’s Longest LTTF 

One of KOMIPO’s strengths is its excellent plant operation capability. KOMIPO carries out a strict system of preventive maintenance for all facilities, as evidenced by its feat of running the world’s longest long-term trouble-free operation (LTTF). In an unprecedented move, Boryeong Thermal Unit 3, Korea’s first standard coal-fired thermal power plant, set a record of 5,000 consecutive days of trouble-free operation. The record is renewed every day as time passes by. 

KOMIPO has carried out three major tasks in the area of safety and health, aimed at achieving “zero injuries, zero risk, and zero accidents.” 

“We have implemented a disaster safety and health management system to prepare against weather-related injuries and disasters impacting our facilities, thus preventing life- or equipment-threatening incidents. These efforts have paid off with 30 years of zero accidents at the Seoul Thermal Plant and 28 years at the Jeju thermal Power Plant,” KOMIPO officials said. 

Seoul Thermal Power Complex Promises to Emerge as Tourism Attraction

KOMIPO's project to change the Seoul Thermal Power Complex into an underground power plant-cum-prestige historical culture space is gaining momentum with approval from the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Korea Midland Power Co. (KOMIPO) has signed an agreement on the implementation of the projected Seoul Combined Cycle Power Units 1&2 with the Mapo Ward Office and an MOU on a culture space within the power plant with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the ward office.

The Seoul Combined Cycle Power Plant Project, being implemented according to the third national power supply master plan, calls for building two combined cycle power units with a combined electricity capacity of 800MW and heating facilities with a capacity of 530Gcal/h by December 2016.

The new power units, to be placed on the site of the former Danginni Power Plant, will be placed underground, the first such one in the world, forming aesthetics and harmony with its surroundings. The upper part of the new power units will be made into a public park, catering to the general public’s interests. 

In addition, Seoul Thermal Power Units 4&5, to be decommissioned, will be a culture creation plant, similar to the Tate Modern, which is based in a former power plant site in London and is among the most visited art galleries in the world.

‘KOMIPO-style Industry Innovation Drive 3.0’

KOMIPO has declared the “KOMIPO-style Industry Innovation Drive 3.0,” designed to not only strengthen the competitiveness of its cooperative subcontractors, but also to induce corporate innovation on a voluntary basis. The move is in line with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s policy to promote shared growth in order to help secondary cooperative subcontractors stand on their own. 

The power company plans to implement the campaign by mobilizing its own manpower and property capabilities. In this regard, KOMIPO is going to inaugurate an innovation group composed of quality craftspeople, technology experts, and company officials in charge of shared growth. The company will offer open-ended consulting services tailored to meet their demands in factory innovation, management innovation, and technology innovation and provide management and investment support based on the outcomes of diagnoses.