KEPCO Opens Debate to Prepare for 4th Industrial Revolution

South Korea's state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) opened a debate to seek out a new growth engine in the energy sector for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

KEPCO announced that it held a forum to create the energy ecosystem and strengthen the nation’s new growth engine for the Fourth Industrial Revolution with specialized agencies, such as the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), KEPCO KDN and Korea Phothnics Tecnnology Institute (KOPTI), at the Gwangju-Jeonnam headquarters in Gwangju Metropolitan City on Jan. 31. The meeting was designed to develop new businesses converging new technologies in the power energy and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors and share opinions with energy related agencies to establish the foundation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is a global issue.

Starting from last year, KEPCO has been conducting joint research and development (R&D) with academic and industry institutions in order to secure core technologies in the new energy sector, including ICT convergence, which can lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The company is planning to lead a new electric power facilities operation paradigm by applying artificial intelligence (AI), big data and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to the entire electric power industry, and provide convergence services that satisfy various customer needs.

In addition, KEPCO will construct the “next-generation smart power grid control system” for malfunction prognostics and automated malfunction recovery, develop “electric power energy management system (EMS) by using new renewable energy power generation and energy storage systems (ESS), develop a total diagnosis and prevention system for electric power transmission and transformation by using the electric power information visualization for monitoring in real time, and develop a GE Predix-based facility management technology that can resolve onsite problems, such as big data processing and AI utilization malfunction and lifespan prediction.

KEPCO President Cho Hwan-ik said, “AI technology is not only seen in various types of businesses but also has a huge potential that can affect the entire industry. We are planning to expand the investment in building the AI platform for the electric power industry so that the industry can create new services and lead the ecosystem.”