Indiscriminate Public Utilities Charge Increases Forbidden

During the second half of this year (July to December), indiscriminate increases in public utilities charges such as telephone charges and electric charges are expected to decrease.

This is because if public utilities charges are to be increased, they will now need to go through a government cost verification process, and the government will annually analyze financial statements of related corporations and monitor whether there is an actual need for adjustment in their public utility rates.

On April 11, the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MFE) announced that under such general guidelines, they have determined to decide on changes in “public utilities charges assessment standards” and the details of individual fees during the second half of this year.

Yoon Gi-sang, manager of the welfare price policy division, said, “When detailed standards are established, the indiscriminate increase of public utilities charges will disappear and perhaps, depending on circumstances, further reduce the charges.”

The subjects of the new standard will be 16 public utilities charges such as basic telephone charges, public telephone charges, local wire telephone charges, cellular telephone charges, telephone charges on wired telephones calling wireless telephones, electric charges, train fares, freeway tolls, express bus fares, cross-country bus fares, cable television subscription fees, domestic postal charges, international postal charges, administrative fees, city gas wholesale charges, and water supply wholesale charges.

When public utilities charges rise, the MFE is planning to compare the cost applied when assessing public utilities charges and projected sales to the actual closings, and adjust charges if the difference is significant.

legman@donga.com