The state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation(KEPCO) has frozen the adjusted unit fuel cost for electricity rates for the second quarter.

KEPCO said on Tuesday that it has decided to freeze the adjusted unit fuel cost at zero won per kilowatt-hour for the April-June period, remaining unchanged from three months ago.

The unit fuel cost is a key part of the country's electricity rates. KEPCO proposed a three-won increase per kilowatt-hour in the cost, citing soaring oil and coal prices.

The government, however, rejected the proposal, citing the need to stabilize people's livelihoods amid high inflation and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The government also noted that the electricity rate is set to rise six-point-nine won per kilowatt-hour from next month in accordance with earlier decisions unrelated to the quarterly adjustable rate.

With the move, a household using 350 kilowatt-hours a month will see an increase of 24-hundred won in its bills from April.