Time now for our "Life & Info" segment... where we focus on information useful for your everyday life.<br />To prepare for yet another scorching summer, the South Korean government is seeking to fix its electricity billing system for the peak months.<br />Park Se-young has more.<br />With the worst heat in 111 years, South Korea's household electricity use set a new record in 2018. In August, when electricity consumption was highest, …the average monthly electricity bill in Seoul was double that of December's.<br />Currently, Korea's household electricity bills are divided into three rates, …so that the heaviest users are billed at a rate three times higher than the lowest users.<br />Last year, about 40 percent of households were hit with the increased electricity rates of heavy users, …which is why the government is looking to revise the system before July.<br /><br />Three proposals have been suggested and are under discussion.<br />Temporarily expanding the usage ceiling for the first two rates during the summer will lower electricity bills for more than 16 million households by around eight dollars each.<br />Altering the billing system to two rates instead of the current three, will see over six million households benefit from an average discount of about 14 dollars.<br />However, this revision comes with concerns that it will only benefit those who use the most electricity.<br />The last proposal calls for a flat-rate system throughout the year.<br />This will resolve the progressive rate controversy,… but around 14 million households in the first stage will see their electric bills rise by over three dollars.<br /><br />The trade ministry will finalize the plan after a public hearing of expert discussions and feedback from the public on Tuesday.<br />If the proposal is approved by the Korea Electric Power Corporation and the energy ministry, the revision will go into effect in July.<br />Park Se-young, Arirang News.<br />
