The Measurement of Efficiency Structure and Regulatory Effects in Korean Electric Industry with Power Development Plan

전원개발계획을 고려한 전력산업의 비용구조 및 규제효과분석

This paper tries to analyze the efficiency structure and regulatory effects in electric power industry by using total factor productivity and indices based on cost function method. This paper performed an empirical analysis on the efficiency improvement and optimal scale taking the cost aspect in electricity industry into account. By expanding the cost structure framework, this paper proposes the analytical method regarding the needs of technology regulation and presents the empirical results which can be verified. Hence, this work can play a key role in decision-making of the national power development and regulatory policy. The empirical result indicates that the electricity industry in Korea has been in the state of economies of scale until 1980s, However, due to sustained growth of power generation, economies of scale declined and subsided after 1980s and then diseconomies of scale is shown recent years. The analysis on the effect of technology regulation shows the national large-scale base-load power plant development-oriented policy until so far contributed substantial cost effect to the electricity industry. The empirical result indicates that the reserve requirement as one of means of technology regulation policy did not contribute to the economies of scale but positive effect on the total factor productivity in Korea.