President Kim Jong-kap of Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO). (Photos: KEPCO)

President Kim Jong-kap of Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said his company will try to make 2021 the first year of the company’s sustainable management drive based on an electricity tariff system indexing unit costs.

In his New Year’s message, President Kim said, “If greater trends of the times are grasped exactly, our company’s future can be prepared properly.” Here is the gist of his message.

“Looking back, last year was a year ridden with variables, caused by COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainties,” he said.

“Despite hardships, we’ve fulfilled our own responsibilities by implementing energy paradigm shift and digital transformation in a steady fashion, and we’ve improved finances by greater margins, departing from concessive losses,” President Kim said.

He said the protracted pandemic has changed a great many things, not only daily routines. It has accelerations digitalization in all sectors, established non-contact such stay-at-home work as standard, and concern toward climate change and eco-friendliness has increased as we’re enduring the longest-ever monsoon season, he said.

Kim said, “If greater trends of the times are grasped exactly, our company’s future can be prepared properly, and let me talk about pending core issues all KEPCO officials will have to know well and ponder to cope with the upcoming changes.”

First, he said, “Let’s make this year the first year in which KEPCO can launch sustainable management through financial soundness.”

“We’ve laid groundwork on an electricity tariff system indexing unit prices, introduced this time, and it is sure to be a good thing in a national perspective, but this is worry that KEPCO might fall into moral laxity, so we have to conduct unit management thoroughly by applying strict evaluation indices.”

Secondly, he said “KEPCO should more aggressively spearhead eco-friendly, low-carbon businesses.”

“In order to achieve global trends of carbon net-zero by 2050, I think that KEPCO should be directly engaged in the renewal energy generation business,” he said.

Advance investments need to be made and the stability of the power grid should be enhanced so power operators can be connected with ease. Supplementary steps should be made to ease power operators’ worry over the neutrality of the power grid, he said.

Thirdly, he said KEPCO should establish governance of the whole of the power companies of KEPCO, corresponding to that of a listed company. KEPCO needs to lead the whole of the power companies to optimize management while it has to dramatically reduce and eliminate duplicating R&D investments.

“Let’s return to electricity consumers the benefits stemming from efforts to remove inefficiencies and waste, and KEPCO should spearhead efforts to raise the business performance of the whole of the power companies even if it would have an adverse impact on KEPCO’s separate financial statement,” he said.

Fourthly, he said, “Let’s make KEPCO’s new corporate culture: Concentrate on fundamentals and pick up speed by reducing a reporting process.”

KEPCO should be armed with strategic nimbleness to brace for uncertainties and resilience to overcome failures, and all KEPCO officials will have to be equipped with capabilities representing KEPCO abroad by continuously learning new trends, he added. In particular, he said, “KEPCO needs to communicate with customers and its cooperative companies in their shoes: Be back to the basics, fairness and integrity.”

Fifthly, he said, “KEPCO should make worksite a safer one and purse growth together with local communities, and let’s become an exemplary company pursuing not only profitability but also public interests.”

“Let’s dream a dream together New Year, all KEPCO officials: become a public entity, beloved the most by people and the power utilities company with the highest-ever competitive edge in the world, and if we join forces, it will come true,” he said.

A view of Korea Electric Power Corp. headquarters in Naju, Jeollanam-do.