South Korea’s state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) will supply its smart grid system to Montgomery College in the United States, venturing into the global smart grid industry.

The Korean utility company on Friday (local time) signed a letter of intent to build a smart campus at Montgomery College in Maryland, Washington DC in the U.S.

Total $3.3 million will be injected to turn six buildings of the university into energy efficient green buildings. Montgomery College will invest $1.5 million, while KEPCO and another Korean energy company LS Industrial Systems Co. will chip in $800,000 and $1 million, respectively. LS Industrial Systems will be in charge of installing a solar energy generation system and energy storage systems that will supply the power across the campus. KEPCO will establish a building energy management system (BEMS) in six of the campus buildings.

“The project will serve as an opportunity for KEPCO to display its prowess in smart grid, smart town and smart city system, and to expand our business across the U.S.,” said Cho Hwan-eik, president and chief executive officer at KEPCO said. “The smart campus system would allow the buildings in the school to be powered by solar energy during the day and by stored energy during the night. Smart lighting system would automatically turn the lights off when no one is in the classroom,” he added.

The profits generated from energy saving will be distributed among Montgomery College, KEPCO and LS Industrial System according to their stakes. Cho expected that the smart campus system would reduce the school’s energy consumption by 15 to 20 percent annually.

The utility firm also plans to establish partnership with Canadian energy company PowerStream to set up microgrids, a self-sufficient energy system, in Canada and Virginia State in the U.S., according to industry sources.

KEPCO has completed development of not only the smart building system but also smart town system that optimizes power usage of an entire residential area.

As of 02:24 p.m. on Monday, KEPCO shares rose 1.9 percent, or 950 won, to 47,400 won in Seoul trading.

By Lee Jin-myung and Kim Jung-hwan

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]