Korea, Russia look into integrating their national power systems

Sign agreement to research and investigate plan. Korea Electric Power Corporation, En+ Group and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to do joint research into the integration of power systems of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea. Kepco is the largest electricity producer in South Korea. En+ is Russia's leading mining, metals and energy group while Skoltech is a new Moscow-based international university of science and technology created in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The research, which will be conducted at Skoltech, will focus on possible routes and volumes of electricity to be supplied from Russia to South Korea, and the options to exchange power flows for day/night and seasonal phases. The research should take two years. It is a part of the NEAREST project (North East Asian Region Electrical System Ties), an APEC initiative to integrate power systems of North East Asia countries including China, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea and some other economies. NEAREST aims to secure a more reliable power supply, lower electricity costs and reduce environmental impact of the energy sector. This initiative was announced at APEC Energy working group in November 2012 and supported by the governments of China, Russia, South Korea, Singapore and USA.