BUSAN — Busan is expanding the permitted uses of its energy vouchers for small business owners from vehicle fuel costs to electricity bills. The city aims to ease the operating burden of rising energy costs by allowing the vouchers to be applied to electricity charges, a fixed monthly expense.
The city said on the 13th that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with KEPCO's Busan-Ulsan regional office to broaden where the energy vouchers can be used. The two organizations agreed to build and operate a payment system that allows energy vouchers issued as policy support funds through Dongbaekjeon, Busan's local digital currency platform to be used for electricity bill payments.
Since Sept. 28, the city has been providing energy vouchers worth 200,000 won per person to local small business owners. The vouchers could previously be used only for vehicle fuel costs, but the agreement widens their scope to include electricity bills. The city had been in talks with KEPCO on electricity payment arrangements before the program launched, and the agreement formalizes the cooperation framework between the two organizations.
Beyond building and operating the electricity payment system, the two organizations plan to cooperate on managing Dongbaekjeon merchant participation, providing guidance on payment methods, and setting up a response system for inquiries and difficulties that arise during use.
Because electricity bills are a fixed cost incurred every month regardless of revenue fluctuations, the expanded scope is expected to help reduce cost burdens for small business owners.
Park Dong-seok, head of the city's Citizens' Economy Bureau, said, "We will work with KEPCO so that small business owners can use the energy vouchers more conveniently and feel the benefits on the ground."