EWP Expands Its Portfolios in Overseas Business, Renewables

CEO Lee unveils the management tasks EWP will have to implement with a focus during this year

EWP President & CEO Lee Gil-gu

Korea East-West Power (EWP) President & CEO Lee Gil-gu said EWP has gained ground in carrying out overseas projects and independent power projects in partnerships with Korean companies in the new and renewable energy fields.
Lee said in his New Year's message, "Thanks to our strenuous efforts to advance management, we've established foundation for growth momentum by innovating personnel management and evaluation systems and realizing merit- and responsibility-oriented, specialized and flexible organization." He added, "By focusing on these innovative activities and challenging spirit, the implementation of overseas projects, new and renewable projects and IPPs in partnerships with Korean companies has become a symbol for ensuing EWP's growth management, surprising energy companies." In particular, even if overseas projects cannot produce results in a short period of time, EWPOs successful acquisition of four power plants in the United States, the electricity power, and operating of nine projects in seven countries including the Philippines, Chile and Haiti, have become the subject of envy from others and success stories.
He noted that EWP posted a record high of 240 billion in profits last year thanks to sophistical unit price reduction steps and stabilized operation of power facilities, including the innovation of purchasing fuels and mixed fuel burning ratio.
"We're now in a crossroad of change," Lee said. Despite some outcomes through differentiation, he said, EWP is facing with a situation loaded with uncertainties ¡ª returning to a place where it once stayed unless it make another step forward," and the designation of EWP as one of market-oriented public enterprises is just the beginning of such a situation. He added, "Let us make another changes to overcome hardships, make a leap to another level in competition with privately-run power companies and global power concerns and achieve the goal of becoming a "Great Company."
The president unveiled the following management tasks EWP will have to implement with a focus during this year. First, Lee called for making strenuous efforts to pursue profit-oriented management. He said EWP will have to build a virtuous cycle of making proceeds from unit price reduction, the starting point of sustainable growth, investing into new projects and recreate profits. A virtuous cycle of growth needs to be deeply rooted on the basis of the asset of innovation the power company has achieved, and continuous profitability will have to be backed up in order to become a "great company," the president said.
Second, he said, EWP should nourish global manpower with comprehensive expertise. "Our companyOs competition lies with staff members, not facilities, so we need a strong staff to become a strong company," he opined.
EWP will offer educational and training programs to harness employees' capability in the years to come. A 1-year training course and commissioned educational programs, entitled only to cadres so far, will be expanded to include other employees so that EWP's future leaders can be armed with capabilities, and a personnel management system will be innovated in a way all employees can be nurtured into manpower with a comprehensive understanding of responsibilities ranging from planning to purchase, construction, operation and maintenance, not just simple technical manpower.
Lee said his company will also make efforts to build a system to explore, systematize and spread its own development technology so that homegrown technology whose management is lax can be its corporate assets.
Third, he said, EWP will devote itself in innovating its corporate culture in a constructive manner. "Fundamentally changing the way the power company is run should be a precondition to evolve into a global company," he said.
Fourth, he called for ensuring sustainable growth by strengthening its business capabilities. Given the reality that the nation sees its electricity demand slow down and the government implements policies favoring atomic energy, EWP's growth will depend on expanding new businesses, including overseas projects and new and renewable projects.
EWP is forecast to post a record high of 300 billion won in profits from the operation of overseas businesses in the United States, the Philippines and Haiti and others.
Lee said EWP is expected to realize the goal of posting 1 trillion won in sales, 17 million won in net income and 18,000MW in facility capacity by 2017.
EWP's strategies to implement new and renewable energy projects that can bring growth and profits while coping with climate change will likely yield results in earnest from this year, he said.
The power company will see the wind power, biomass, tidal power, and photovoltaic power projects it is implementing create projects and play leading roles in promoting the governmentOs low-carbon, green growth paradigm when they are completed successively.
Fifth, he said, EWP will redouble efforts to take its corporate responsibility to society.nw