South Korea mulls mandatory energy storage

Will also look at revising its electricity rate structure.

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has announced plans to consider energy storage, energy management and a revision of its electricity rate structure.

It intends to mandate energy storage systems and provide financial support of up to 50% of the system cost for small and medium-sized firms affected by the ruling.

The planned electricity rate restructuring could increase the spread between peak and off-peak electricity prices. This will be a further incentive to load shifting and energy arbitrage for energy storage developers.

The announcement follows a continuing series of power shortages throughout the country. South Korea’s high per capita demand for electricity is complicated by the shutdown two of its 23 nuclear plants that together account for 5% of its electricity capacity.

Minister Yoon Sang-jick, however, said the current crisis was also caused by a shortage of supply, and that Korea must also continue to expand its supply while encouraging efficient use and management of electricity.

He noted that ongoing efforts to slash power use could help reduce South Korea’s peak consumption by up to 1 GW or 1.3% of its peak demand.