Nowon-gu cuts unnecessary electricity base charges at 10 public buildings, saving 58.39 million won ($38,500) a year — led by the newly established Green Building Support Center, which now runs smart energy monitoring at 20 facilities around the clock.
Seoul's Nowon-gu said it has saved approximately 58.4 million won ($38,500) in annual electricity base charges by adjusting contracted power levels at public buildings — cutting unnecessary spending while improving energy efficiency and contributing to carbon neutrality.
To encourage rational energy use across its public facilities, the district launched a survey of energy consumption at 50 public buildings in January last year. The survey found that 10 of those buildings had contracted power levels set far above their actual peak demand, resulting in wasted base charges every month.
The district then began a phased process of revising the contracts. In December last year, it lowered contracted power levels at four community facilities: Hagyeoul Maru, Junggye Eoulmaroo, Hannae Haengbok Baljeonso and the Gyeongchun Line Healing Rest Area.
That first round of adjustments cut annual base charges by approximately 22.77 million won. In February, the district completed a second round covering six more facilities: the Patriots and Veterans Hall, the Nowon-gu Youth Counseling and Welfare Center, the Sanggye Youth Culture Center, the Wolgye Culture and Welfare Center, the Sanggye 5-dong Community Service Center and the Madl Community Health Center.
An analysis of actual billing records across all 10 buildings confirmed monthly savings of 4.866 million won, adding up to 58.4 million won a year in electricity base charges.
By facility, the Wolgye Culture and Welfare Center recorded the largest individual savings at 9.61 million won a year (800,800 won a month), followed by Junggye Eoulmaroo at 9.24 million won and the Madl Community Health Center at 8.87 million won annually.
The initiative was led by the Green Building Support Center, a dedicated unit established through an organizational restructuring in January last year. The center was set up to advance the district's carbon-neutrality goals ahead of national government timelines and to improve energy efficiency in public buildings. It oversaw everything from energy-use surveys and contracted-power reviews to the installation of building energy monitoring systems. The project is part of a broader fiscal and energy reform effort to eliminate wasteful spending and reinforce Nowon's standing as the only carbon-neutrality pioneer city in the greater Seoul metropolitan area.
Beyond adjusting power contracts, the district also built a technology-driven energy management system. In March, it installed a building energy monitoring system at 20 major public facilities, including a community sports center and a civic hall, significantly upgrading the district's energy management infrastructure.
The system allows staff to track electricity consumption and real-time rate fluctuations compared with the previous year at a glance, with facility managers running continuous monitoring around the clock. The district plans to expand the system to additional buildings and roll out more advanced green building policies, including integrated energy maintenance management and green remodeling of aging public facilities.
"This contracted power adjustment is a model case of proactive administration that cuts unnecessary budget expenditure," said Nowon District Mayor Oh Seung-rok. "We will continue to strengthen the energy management system across public buildings to improve fiscal efficiency, while building Nowon into a carbon-neutrality pioneer city that actively responds to the climate crisis."
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