KEPCO to sell all overseas coal power plants following record losses

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) headquarters in Naju, South Jeolla Province / Courtesy of KEPCO

Korea Electric Power (KEPCO) said Wednesday it will sell all overseas coal-fired power plants, including one in the Philippines, as part of efforts to improve its financial status over record quarterly losses.

Last week, the state-run electricity monopoly reported a record-high operating loss of 7.78 trillion won ($6.14 billion) in the first quarter of this year due to high global energy costs and a freeze in electricity rates.

Holding an emergency meeting with its affiliates, KEPCO vowed to "seek all possible options" to make up for more than 6 trillion won, including the restructuring of overseas businesses, property sales and other cost-cutting measures.

In detail, the company plans to sell a thermoelectric power plant it built in the Philippine city of Cebu, as well as a solar power plant in the United States.

It is also reviewing withdrawing from other overseas coal power plant projects in phases, and selling off some gas power plants.

Such restructuring of overseas businesses is expected to allow the company to secure about 1.9 trillion won, according to KEPCO.

It also pledged efforts to secure more channels of fuel imports to reduce cost of production, and to rearrange its investment schedule to better focus on streamlining the corporate structure.

"We will expedite our management innovation to make the current crisis a chance to resolve longtime structural and systematic problems," KEPCO said. (Yonhap)

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