The electricity rates will be raised by 8.0 won (0.01 U.S. dollar) per kilowatt hour (kWh) from Tuesday, after a growth of 13.1 won (0.01 dollar) per kWh in the first quarter, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
It would cost a four-member household about 3,000 won (2.24 dollars) more in monthly electricity bills, assuming that the household's monthly average usage of electricity is 332 kWh.
The gas rates will be lifted by 1.04 won per megajoule from Tuesday, hiking the four-member household's monthly payment of gas bills by around 4,400 won (3.29 dollars) on average.
The hike in public utility charges came as the state-run utility companies logged huge losses for the past two years amid the surging fuel costs.
The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. recorded its combined operating losses of 38.5 trillion won (28.8 billion dollars) in 2021 and 2022, before posting an operating loss of 6.2 trillion won (4.6 billion dollars) in the first quarter of this year.
The Korea Gas Corp. had some 11.6 trillion won (8.7 billion dollars) in uncollected payments at the end of March, soaring from 1.8 trillion won (1.3 billion dollars) in 2021 and 8.6 trillion won (6.4 billion dollars) in 2022 each.
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