[Alphabiz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Since January this year, industrial electricity bills have risen 9.5% (13.1 won) per kilowatt hour (kwh), putting about 870 billion won in additional burden on 10 companies that used the most power last year even if they use the same amount this year. In particular, semiconductor sectors such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which use the most power, are directly hit by the additional burden of electricity bills at a time when their performance is deteriorating due to slowing demand and falling prices.

The 10 companies that purchased the most power last year were Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Hyundai Steel, LG Display, Samsung Display, S-Oil, LG Chem, POSCO, GS Caltex, and ㈜ Hanju. Among them, Samsung Electronics (25,558GWh) used the most power, followed by SK Hynix (10,10GWh), and a total of 67,094GWh was purchased by 10 companies. 1GWh is the amount of electricity that 300 households can use for a year based on four-person households.

The problem is that the rise in electricity bills this year has put more pressure on companies. If Samsung Electronics' power usage of 25,558GWh last year is converted into kwh, it is 20.558 billion kwh. If this year's power rate increase (13.1 won) is applied, the annual additional burden will be about 269.3 billion won.

Assuming that the same amount of electricity as last year is used this year, the additional burden on 10 companies will increase to 878.9 billion won. By company, SK Hynix is 131.1 billion won, Hyundai Steel is 89.9 billion won, LG Display and Samsung Display are 80.5 billion won, S-Oil is 50.4 billion won, LG Chem is 49.6 billion won, POSCO is 46.3 billion won, GS Caltex is 41.5 billion won, and Hanju is 39.8 billion won.

[ⓒ AlphaBIZ. 무단전재-재배포 금지]