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Mr. Kim, a resident of Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, was recently surprised to receive his electricity bill for August. The monthly bill for the electricity used from July 12th to August 11th amounted to about ￦11.5 million (US$1=￦1327). This is more than five times the electricity bill for the welfare facility of 1,320 square meters (about 400 pyeong) where Mr. Kim works, which is ￦220 million.
The electricity bill statement showed an astonishing monthly electricity usage of 14,221 kWh (kilowatt-hours). If a family of four were to run a standing-type air conditioner (power consumption 1.8 kW) in their living room for 12 hours a day for an entire month in the summer, the monthly usage would be 1000 kWh. Even with a usage of 1,000 kWh, the monthly electricity bill would be ￦300,000, which is only one fortieth of the amount Mr. Kim was charged. The usage exceeding 14,000 kWh is comparable to the electricity consumption of three convenience stores running 24 hours a day for a month. This bill is equivalent to what three convenience stores operating continuously with refrigerators and air conditioners would accumulate, and it’s being charged to a 20 pyeong(1 pyeong = 3.3 ㎡) villa where a 3-person household lives. It’s practically impossible for a household to use over 10,000 kWh of electricity in a month. Mr. Kim mentioned, “Last August, even with the air conditioner on, the usage was 376 kWh and the bill was around ￦57,000. In July of this year, the usage was 269 kWh with a bill of about ￦30,000.” He added, “At first, I thought there was a printing mistake on the bill.”
Upon inquiring with the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Mr. Kim learned that a wire located directly below the meter had become pressed against it, causing an electrical leakage. This continuous flow of electricity into the ground for 24 hours was the root cause of the extortionate bill. Shocked by the excessive bill, Mr. Kim now finds himself grappling with the response from the power company. Despite the absurdity of the situation, he received a response from the power company stating, “As the cause comes from a customer facility issue, the customer is responsible for bearing the entire electricity bill.” When the reporter reached out directly to KEPCO, they replied, “The payment has been temporarily postponed,” and added, “In this case, the usage amount was excessively high, and due to the summer progressive pricing system, the bill was calculated to be even higher. We will swiftly work to find a solution.”
Based on similar cases in the past, Kim is likely to be responsible for a significant portion of the bill. Mr. Kim’s lament of “Who ever checks their home meter regularly?” resonates with the feeling that this situation is not so far from an everyday occurrence for most individuals.
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