KEPCO Expands East Coast–East Seoul HVDC Network with New Contracts
Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has awarded cable supply contracts for the 500 kV East Coast–East Seoul HVDC Phase 2 Underground Transmission Project, following competitive bidding completed on 9 June 2026. The total project value is approximately $214 million (~KRW 300 billion).
The contracts have been distributed across three domestic manufacturers. LS Cable & System secured Section 1, covering an 85.5 km 500 kV transmission line. Taihan Cable was awarded Section 2, also a 500 kV, 85.5 km segment, while Iljin Electric will supply Section 3, a 70 kV-class neutral line spanning 85.3 km. The combined cable length across all sections is approximately 256 km.
LS Cable & System confirmed its award on 15 June 2026, stating that its Phase 2 contract is valued at approximately KRW 146 billion (~$104 million). This follows a previous Phase 1 contract worth about KRW 88 billion (~$63 million), bringing LS Cable’s total commitments for the East Coast–Capital Area initiative to approximately KRW 234 billion (~$167 million).
The East Coast–Capital Area HVDC corridor is one of South Korea’s largest transmission infrastructure projects, designed to transport electricity from eastern generation hubs—including nuclear, thermal, and renewable sources—to the Seoul metropolitan area.
KEPCO has adopted a distributed procurement strategy for Phase 2 to enhance supply chain stability and reduce execution risk across multiple domestic suppliers.
The project also marks Taihan Cable’s entry into a major domestic HVDC role, following investments in submarine cable manufacturing capacity and 500 kV product development.
Construction on Phase 1 began in November 2025, featuring the world’s first commercial deployment of a 500 kV 90°C high-temperature HVDC cable developed by LS Cable, increasing transmission capacity by up to 50%.
Source: hvdcworld.com
