South Korea’s state-run utility KEPCO partnered with LS Electric Co. to enhance power grid monitoring capabilities, marking the latest push to modernize the nation’s critical infrastructure.
The companies signed an agreement at BIXPO 2024 in Gwangju to merge their diagnostic technologies. The collaboration will integrate KEPCO’s SEDA system, which has been operational since 2021, with LS Electric’s AI-powered CMS monitoring platform.
The partnership comes as aging power infrastructure and increasing demand strain utilities across Asia. Power companies are turning to artificial intelligence to predict and prevent equipment failures that could lead to costly blackouts.
KEPCO has been pushing to digitize its operations amid pressure to improve efficiency and reduce maintenance costs. The utility has faced criticism over its mounting debt, which reached 208 trillion won ($156 billion) in 2023.
The combined system will analyze real-time data from power facilities to identify potential malfunctions before they occur. While KEPCO claims SEDA has proven reliable since its deployment, the effectiveness of the integrated solution remains to be tested.
The companies didn’t disclose financial terms or implementation timeline for the project.
