전력시장에서의 공정거래법 집행에 관한 연구 - EU 경쟁법 집행사례의 시사점을 중심으로 -

Abstract

Electricity is an essential for everyday human lives and it is a fundamental mission of a modern nation to ensure stable and reliable supply of electricity on reasonable price. However, the electric power industry of Korea is suffering from chronicle shortages of supply and soaring wholesale price of electric power and securing stable electric power supply and an efficient electricity market has emerged again as a major national agenda. The electric power industry of Korea had been monopolized by the vertically integrated state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) for decades. In early 2000’s, the Korean Government, affected by the international trend toward liberalization of and introduction of competition to electric power industries, launched restructuring of the industry in order to establish a competitive electricity market on both wholesale and retail level. However, the restructuring came to a deadlock after KEPCO’s electricity generation unit had been split into six subsidiaries. Incomplete introduction of competition and lack of adequate competition law enforcement in the Korean electric power industry resulted in very unstable and inefficient electric power markets. For establishing an efficient and reliable electric power market, the reform of the electric power market should be fully accomplished and rigorous competition law enforcement in the market should follow. In light of the European experience of competition policy initiatives and competition law enforcement in the energy sector, competition law enforcement in the Korean electric power market should focus upon preventing abuses of market dominance such as capacity withdrawals by market dominant generators and long-term electricity supply contracts which have effect of foreclosing new entrants from newly opened electricity market. Depending on the network unbundling model chosen through the reform process, securing third party access to the networks on fair and nondiscriminatory terms is another key issue which competition law enforcement in electric power markets should pay attention to.