"More than 6 out of 10 power supply and demand plan transmission and substation projects are delayed... 121 years in total."

Rep. Eogyu said, “Power measures are needed for the success of the three major mega projects.”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jang Bo-in = It was found that more than 6 out of 10 transmission and substation facility construction projects according to the government's 7th to 10th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand (Electricity Basic Plan) were not completed in a timely manner.

While the government is emphasizing the speed of 'three mega projects' such as semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence (AI), and AI data centers, it is pointed out that special measures are needed to supply the necessary electricity on time.

According to data received from Korea Electric Power Corporation by Rep. Eogyu of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the Climate, Energy, Environment, and Labor Committee of the National Assembly on the 19th, out of 104 major transmission and substation projects of the 7th to 10th Electricity Report, 19 projects were completed within the target.

In 17 cases, the target date has not yet been reached, but in 68 cases, construction was completed beyond the target date or construction was not completed even after the target date was exceeded.

Excluding cases where the same project was included in the previous report multiple times and thus double-counted, there were 31 projects that exceeded the completion target. Of these, 15 have been completed after delays, but 16 have not been completed.

It was calculated that adding up all the excess periods for each of the 31 projects amounts to 121 years and 2 months (1,454 months).

The Bukdangjin-Sintangjeong transmission line was targeted for completion in June 2017, but was completed only in December 2024, and the Shinsongsan substation was also completed in December of last year, seven years later than the original target.

The Dongducheon C/C to Yangju transmission line, which was scheduled to be completed in April 2019, is still in the construction stage.

Looking at the current status of construction of transmission and substation facilities that KEPCO has been promoting for the past 20 years, including projects included in the electricity budget, a total of 283 projects are currently delayed, including 136 transmission towers and 147 substations.

The average construction period for facilities above 345kV (kilovolts) was about 10 years and 1 month for transmission towers and about 10 years for substations.

The reasons for the delay are also complex. The main reasons for the transmission tower project were civil complaints (40 cases), prior processes and related projects (31 cases), and permits (28 cases). In the substation project, industrial complex development and customer-related reasons accounted for the most with 49 cases.

Rep. Eo Gu-gu said, "In order to succeed in the three major mega projects, issues such as licensing adjustments, consultation with residents, and securing financial resources must be resolved to prevent industrial facilities from being unable to operate due to lack of electricity. The government must pool the capabilities of relevant ministries to come up with special measures to resolve power grid delays."