The government is expected to announce electricity rate hikes on Friday that will go into effect in the first quarter of next year.

Speaking to local media outlets on Thursday, energy minister Lee Chang-yang said final adjustments are under way so that the plan can be announced within the year.

According to the ministry's recent plan to normalize the debt-ridden Korea Electric Power Corporation(KEPCO), the public company must raise the fee by 51-point-six won per kilowatt-hour next year, more than double this year's hike of 19-point-three won.

While front-loading increases in the earlier quarters would help KEPCO post an estimated operating profit of one-point-nine trillion won, spreading the hike evenly across the quarters would result in a deficit of one-point-three trillion won.

Spreading the hike evenly across three years would result in estimated losses of 14-point-three trillion won in 2023.

The minister said the final plan would take into account a rise in electricity demand in the winter and how the fare increase would impact low-income households and vulnerable groups.