KEPCO shares fall nearly 8% on Q4 electricity rate freeze

KEPCO CI

Shares of Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) fell nearly 8 percent on Monday morning after the South Korean government announced a freeze on electricity rates for the fourth quarter.

KEPCO’s stock was trading at 20,200 won ($15.1) as of 11:10 a.m., down 7.97 percent from the previous session.

KEPCO announced earlier that it would maintain the fuel cost adjustment rate at the current level of 5 won per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the fourth quarter, following approval from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The utility provider also decided not to increase other charges such as basic rates, energy charges, and climate and environment fees.

KEPCO had sold electricity below cost between 2021 and 2023 amid the international energy crisis triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war, leading to cumulative losses of more than 43 trillion won. Its total consolidated debt stood at 202.99 trillion won as of the end of June, up about 440 billion won from the end of last year.

In other market news, Iron Device, a Korean mixed-signal system-on-chip (SoC) semiconductor company, surged on its first day of trading on the Kosdaq.

By 11:11 a.m., Iron Device shares were trading at 15,990, up 128.43 percent from the IPO price of 7,000 won.

Founded in 2008 by former experts from Samsung Electronics Co.’s System LSI division and Fairchild (now under ON Semiconductor), Iron Device designs smart power amplifier chips based on its mixed-signal SoC design technology and supplies them to global electronics manufacturers.