KEPCO publicizes HVDC submarine cable bidding terms to prevent delays
Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) pre-announced bidding terms for the 525kV, 2GW Saemangeum-Seohwaseong HVDC submarine cable project on October 7, 2026. This aims to prevent delays from manufacturer disputes and ensure the ~1.2 trillion KRW project meets its December 2030 completion target, with bidding expected in Q1 2027.
Our take
Is Korea's 2 GW west coast HVDC grid link on track for its 2030 completion target?
Korea's 2 GW west coast HVDC link stays on track for 2030 only if the winning cable maker meets its 2028 test and factory deadlines, which the tender terms enforce but cannot guarantee.
The terms let makers bid before holding every test report, moving the decisive checkpoint from award to first delivery in June 2028. What remains open is whether bidding opens in the first quarter of 2027, the earliest date given, since a later start shortens the time to that checkpoint.
What the source says
- KEPCO KEPCO has held four working-level meetings with LS Cable & System and Taihan Electric Wire since February 2026 to refine the bidding conditions and reflect manufacturer feedback.
- Bidders must submit either a Type or PQ test report at the time of bidding, but are required to secure both actual application-specific Type test and highest conductor specification PQ test reports by the first delivery in June 2028.
- Firms with 'similar experience' are eligible if they have completed development of 525kV or higher, 2GW or higher XLPE HVDC submarine cables and have 1+ year operational experience with AC 500kV or higher XLPE cables within the last 10 years.
- Similar experience bidders are subject to a 10-year defect warranty period (5 years performance + 5 years defect), double the 5 years applied to bidders with 'identical experience'.
- Production facilities must be secured by February 2028, and test reports along with laying vessels by June 2028.
- Failure to meet specified deadlines after two notices and a maximum 50-day correction period will result in contract termination.
- The project involves constructing a 2GW DC transmission network over an approximate 220km section connecting Saemangeum and Seohwaseong.
- Optical cable standards include a minimum of 48 cores per line and the use of double-armored single optical cables for submarine sections.
For investors — Developers whose connection plans in the Saemangeum area assume this link should treat December 2030 as conditional on the June 2028 delivery milestone and check progress against it before fixing a commercial operation date.
Lenders to those projects should test a case in which the link arrives after 2030, since the tender terms reduce dispute risk but not testing or supply-chain risk.
Watch: Announcement of the final bid results or contract signing for the Saemangeum-Seohwaseong HVDC submarine cable project.
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