Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool

Republic of Korea (mainland power system). Status: operational.

Wholesale design: Mandatory cost-based pool with KEPCO as the principal single buyer. KPX prepares day-ahead schedules from verified variable costs and determines the system marginal price; capacity and ancillary payments are rule-based rather than separate open auctions.

Operator
Korea Power Exchange (KPX)
Nominal frequency
60 Hz
Where energy trades

Where does energy trade in Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool?

Energy in Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool trades in 2 layers: day-ahead cost-based energy schedule and system marginal price settlement.

What a battery can sell

What ancillary services can a battery sell in Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool?

Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool has 6 ancillary-service products, across 4 families — frequency containment, automatic frequency restoration, manual frequency restoration and operating reserve: Downward Frequency Reserve, Fast-Response Resource, Frequency-Control Reserve, Primary Reserve, Secondary Reserve, Tertiary Reserve. Response timing, direction and eligibility for each are in the table below; a product's full record lists the official sources behind it.

Every value below comes from the official sources listed in that product's full record. Most products cite more than one, and the published sources do not say which of them states each individual value, so the binding is to the product's record rather than to a single document. A missing line means the source does not state that value — never that the value is zero.

Scroll the table sideways for the rest of the columns →

6 ancillary-service products in Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool, grouped into 4 families. Each row runs left to right through one product's life: how it activates, how quickly it has to respond, how long it has to keep delivering, and how it is bought.
Service How it activates Response Sustained delivery Procurement
Frequency containment
Primary Reserve 1차예비력 raise; lower operational Response type post-fault automatic governor or storage frequency-following Trigger Frequency deviation; available capacity is assessed at plus/minus 0.2 Hz deviation. Full activation 10 s Minimum obligation at least 5 min System requirement 1000 MW Minimum mainland securing criterion in the 2025 rules annex. Through administrative reserve securing under KPX Market Rules Bought day-ahead system operating plan with real-time response How it settles Rule-based primary frequency-control and reserve-capacity-value payments.
Full record for Primary Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded
What it is for

Provide the first automatic frequency response after a fault.

In force from

1 October 2025

Who can provide it

Centrally dispatched generators on governor-free control and qualifying electricity-storage devices.

Checkpoint recap

Full activation 10 s · Minimum sustained 5 min

What the source does not state

The source states the full-activation requirement, a minimum delivery period, and a procurement volume. It does not state a maximum duration.
Automatic frequency restoration
Secondary Reserve 2차예비력 raise; lower operational Response type post-fault centrally controlled AGC Trigger KPX AGC signal following a contingency. Full activation 10 min Minimum obligation at least 30 min System requirement 1400 MW Minimum mainland securing criterion in the 2025 rules annex. Through administrative reserve securing under KPX Market Rules Bought day-ahead system operating plan with real-time activation How it settles Rule-based ancillary-service and AGC-performance/mileage settlement.
Full record for Secondary Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded
What it is for

Restore frequency after transient recovery and replace primary response following a contingency.

In force from

1 October 2025

Who can provide it

Centrally dispatched AGC-capable generating units.

Checkpoint recap

Full activation 10 min · Minimum sustained 30 min

What the source does not state

The source states the full-activation requirement, a minimum delivery period, and a procurement volume. It does not state a maximum duration.
Manual frequency restoration
Tertiary Reserve 3차예비력 raise operational Response type post-fault manual or central dispatch Trigger KPX dispatch instruction. Full activation 30 min System requirement 1400 MW Minimum mainland securing criterion in the 2025 rules annex. Through administrative reserve securing under KPX Market Rules Bought day-ahead system operating plan with real-time activation How it settles Rule-based tertiary reserve payment.
Full record for Tertiary Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded
What it is for

Replace faster reserves and restore operating margin after a contingency.

In force from

1 October 2025

Who can provide it

Centrally dispatched generating units capable of starting/ramping within the required time.

Notes from the source

The Market Rules specify availability within 30 minutes but the cited definition does not state one universal sustain duration.

Checkpoint recap

Full activation 30 min

What the source does not state

The source states the full-activation requirement and a procurement volume. It does not state how long delivery has to be sustained.
Operating reserve
Downward Frequency Reserve 하향주파수조정예비력 lower generation; raise load operational Response type pre-fault centrally controlled Trigger KPX AGC/remote output-control signal. Full activation 10 min Minimum obligation at least 30 min System requirement 1200 MW Minimum mainland securing criterion for downward frequency reserve. The separate broader downward-reserve criterion is 2,000 MW. Through administrative reserve securing under KPX Market Rules Bought day-ahead system operating plan with real-time activation How it settles Rule-based settlement; no separate open clearing price.
Full record for Downward Frequency Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded
What it is for

Provide controlled downward response when supply exceeds demand.

In force from

1 October 2025

Who can provide it

Eligible centrally dispatched resources with downward regulation capability.

Checkpoint recap

Full activation 10 min · Minimum sustained 30 min

What the source does not state

The source states the full-activation requirement, a minimum delivery period, and a procurement volume. It does not state a maximum duration.
Fast-Response Resource 속응성자원 raise operational Response type centrally dispatched starting resource Trigger KPX dispatch instruction. Full activation 20 min Minimum obligation at least 4 h As stated No stable minimum requirement was supported by the cited rule extract. No stable minimum requirement was supported by the cited rule extract. Through administrative designation/dispatch Bought system operating plan How it settles Rule-based fast-response-resource payment within tertiary frequency-control service accounts.
Full record for Fast-Response Resource — document bound, page for these figures not recorded
What it is for

Provide additional start-capable generation outside the core operating-reserve taxonomy for extended system needs.

In force from

1 October 2025

Who can provide it

Centrally dispatched generators capable of starting within 20 minutes and sustaining four hours.

Checkpoint recap

Full activation 20 min · Minimum sustained 4 h

What the source does not state

The source states the full-activation requirement, a minimum delivery period, and a procurement volume in its own words. It does not state a maximum duration.

Sources
Frequency-Control Reserve 주파수제어예비력 raise; lower operational Response type pre-fault centrally controlled AGC Trigger KPX AGC/remote output-control signal. Full activation 5 min Minimum obligation at least 30 min System requirement 700 MW Minimum mainland securing criterion in the cited 2025 rules annex; actual secured quantity may be higher. Through administrative reserve securing and dispatch under KPX Market Rules Bought day-ahead system operating plan with real-time dispatch How it settles Rule-based ancillary-service capacity/opportunity-cost and performance settlement; not a separate pay-as-cleared auction.
Full record for Frequency-Control Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded
What it is for

Maintain frequency during normal operation using AGC and remotely controlled storage.

In force from

1 October 2025

Who can provide it

Eligible centrally dispatched generating units and storage with AGC/remote-control capability.

Checkpoint recap

Full activation 5 min · Minimum sustained 30 min

What the source does not state

The source states the full-activation requirement, a minimum delivery period, and a procurement volume. It does not state a maximum duration.
Getting paid to exist

Does Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool have a capacity mechanism?

No central capacity market. Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool has 1 capacity/adequacy arrangement — KPX Capacity Payment — and it works differently.

KPX Capacity Payment

operational

Eligible generators receive rule-based capacity payments within the cost-based pool. There is no separate competitive forward-capacity auction with a clearing price and delivery obligation comparable to Japan's market.

Auction held in 2025
No — No capacity auction for this market was found to have been held during 2025 in the sources reviewed.

No capacity auction result exists for calendar 2025; published KPX statistics are aggregate administrative payments, not auction outcomes.

Caveats

Technical notes

KPX administratively secures operating-reserve categories and settles eligible centrally dispatched resources under the Market Rules.

Where this comes from

Official sources

Rules

Service specification

Market explainer

Current as of · from the Global Electricity Market Catalogue v1.2.0 (compiled to , CC BY 4.0, rendered here with wording edited for readability). Facts belong to the linked official authorities; verify the current rules before design or bidding decisions.

Questions

Common questions about Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool

Who operates Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool?
Korea Power Exchange (KPX) operates Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool, covering Republic of Korea (mainland power system).
Was a qualifying capacity event held in Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool in 2025?
No. KPX Capacity Payment: no qualifying 2025 event is recorded. No capacity auction for this market was found to have been held during 2025 in the sources reviewed.
How is energy traded, priced and settled in Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool?
Korea Power Exchange Cost-Based Pool: Mandatory cost-based pool with KEPCO as the principal single buyer. KPX prepares day-ahead schedules from verified variable costs and determines the system marginal price; capacity and ancillary payments are rule-based rather than separate open auctions.
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