The clock for Korea's great energy transition is ticking fast. The renewable energy capacity needed to achieve the 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target reaches approximately 100 GW, and power demand driven by electric vehicles, heat pumps, and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers is also expected to grow exponentially. The problem is that the power grid that must handle this cannot keep up with the pace, and uncertainty in the energy market has grown greater than ever due to war and geopolitical risks.
The government is concentrating its efforts on expanding transmission networks, but negotiations with local governments and regional acceptance issues remain formidable obstacles. As a result, situations in which output is curtailed due to transmission constraints even after electricity has been generated from solar and wind are becoming frequent. A new solution called distributed energy is now needed. A distributed power grid, in which small-scale distributed generation, energy storage systems (ESS), and demand response resources produce and consume electricity within a region, is an alternative that can resolve transmission constraints while simultaneously enhancing the reliability and stability of the system.
Along with the spread of distributed energy, various new players such as energy prosumers, aggregators, and virtual power plant (VPP) operators are emerging one after another. The problem is that the playing field on which they can fairly enter and compete in the existing market is woefully insufficient. Given that 99% of renewable energy operators are connected not to transmission networks but to distribution networks, the existing distribution network, which has passively distributed power, must evolve into an active distribution network that actively operates resources.
Looking at global trends, Europe and the United States have already legislated the division of roles and coordination systems between transmission system operators (TSOs) and distribution system operators (DSOs), and secured market fairness through independent regulatory oversight bodies. While the TSO manages large-scale transmission networks and coordinates the entire system, the DSO takes responsibility for ensuring that various distributed energy resources are fairly connected and operated on regional distribution networks. At this juncture, the vision we need is clear. It is to establish a transmission-distribution coordination system that can respond to the rapidly changing energy paradigm, swiftly improve the Grid Code so as not to fall behind technological changes, and establish a fair and transparent market order. At the center of the new governance that will plan these tasks, coordinate stakeholder interests, and supervise the market lies the establishment of a Power Supervisory Agency.
It is difficult for the government to supervise the policy goals set by individual ministries on its own, and the Korea Power Exchange (KPX), which is already in charge of market and system operations, cannot also take on the role of referee. To activate distributed energy, there must be a neutral body where small-scale operators, VPPs, and energy prosumers can compete fairly, breaking away from the structure centered on large-scale power generators, and the Power Supervisory Agency must take on that role. Only when roles are separated — with policy under the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, operations under the Korea Power Exchange, and supervision under the Power Supervisory Agency — can a platform for activating new industries be completed. Furthermore, the Power Supervisory Agency must go beyond being a neutral management and supervisory body to become a "conductor" that activates the market and stabilizes the grid through distributed energy. Opening a stage where fierce innovation competition can unfold based on fair grid access is the Power Supervisory Agency's task.
We stand at a crossroads of energy transition. The Power Supervisory Agency is no longer an option but a necessity. In the era of distributed energy, only by establishing a platform for fair competition as soon as possible will the future of Korea's energy also shine bright.
