Paju proposes apartment energy discount program
Paju City proposed an 'apartment smart electricity rate plan' to reduce residential electricity costs by supplying locally generated renewable energy to apartments.
Our take
Will Korea's distributed energy special zones let local generators sell power directly to apartment residents?
Local generators in Korea can sell directly to apartment residents only as a special-zone privilege, and one city's apartment discount is an idea under consultation while it prepares to seek zone designation.
Inside a zone, direct trading comes with a discount of about KRW 11 per kWh on incidental charges, according to the government's next-generation grid plan. What decides the apartment offer is designation and whether a supplier can price below the progressive household tariff after its own costs.
For investors — Solar developers near a prospective zone should price direct sales to apartments against their current contract or PPA route, and confirm REC treatment under the amended distributed energy act before accepting a municipal offer.
VPP operators and aggregators should follow which cities win zone designation, as the zones designated so far pair direct trading with storage supplying EV charging and data centres.
Watch: Paju City's proposal for an 'apartment smart electricity rate plan' and its commitment to incorporating citizen feedback into future distributed energy and solar siting policies.
Weekly digest
What changed in Korea's power market this week — one email, every week.
Email only, used solely to send this digest (delivered via Resend). Unconfirmed sign-ups are deleted after 30 days. Free.