Korea Electric Power Corp., the nation’s sole power distributor, said Friday it had installed the country’s first energy storage system for power system frequency regulation at the West-Ansung substation in Gyeonggi Province. 

With the installment of ESS for frequency regulation, KEPCO said it would be able not only to reduce power purchasing costs, but also to lay the foundations for the development of related industries.

Starting with the 28 megawatt ESS in the West-Ansung sub-station, KEPCO will build ESS units to a scale of 500 megawatts in total with an investment of 568 billion won ( $503 million ) by 2017. This accounts for about 40 percent of the FR market in Korea and will save power purchasing costs by 320 billion won a year, KEPCO said in a press release. 

KEPCO has spearheaded ESS projects in its efforts to build a smart grid, which enables a more energy efficient electricity grid, saving money for both utility companies and consumers.

(jyseo@heraldcorp.com)