전기요금의 법적 성격 및 요금 결정 체계의 문제점

Abstract

Public charges are public services essential to the survival of the people, and service charges in which the service business has a monopoly. The increase in public utility bills causes a lot of burden on the people and has a great impact on individual people's right to live, such as property rights. In this regard, in the recent case of unconstitutional adjudication on the provision of electricity tariffs (Decision of 2017 Heonga 25 by the Constitutional Court on April 29, 2021), the Constitutional Court regarded electricity tariffs as public tariffs distinct from taxes or levies, and was unconstitutional as a form of mandated legislation. The decision was made to be constitutional on the grounds that it did not violate the parliamentary reservation principle and the comprehensive wage support principle, which are the review criteria. In order to implement the principle of the proper distribution of profits and costs in the public rate decision process and to realize the alternative function of competition through regulation, the government grants a monopoly status to public companies in determining public rates, but directly or indirectly allows them to regulate rates. intervening However, in order to fully perform these functions, the subject of pricing decisions is entirely left to the autonomy of public corporations, although pre-procedures must be prepared to ensure sufficient consumer monitoring and remarks. Therefore, in determining the utility rate, by reflecting the opinions of consumers so as to ensure the rationality of the regulation of public charges, the proper procedure that can ensure the rights of consumers procedurally, see Ho-Yong Lee, the previous paper, page 25. “There are social and functional differences between the US and Korea in the legal system for determining public charges, but the US public rate regulation is implemented in the form of a committee with certain ‘appropriate procedures’, and the role of the administrative committee and public hearings is the role. In the case of the United States, consumer representatives attending public hearings include officials from private organizations, but the representatives of local consumer administrative organizations will participate as representatives of consumers, not the government or business operators. Such an appropriate procedure in the United States has implications for Korea.” It is necessary to provide In addition, it should be possible to secure a way for consumers to increase access to information related to public charges. To this end, in order to guarantee the rationality of the regulation of public charges, it is necessary to establish a concrete organization that can monitor and reflect the opinions of the people. For example, it is necessary to discuss the establishment of a public rate management committee of the same model as in the United States, and an administrative committee or an interest representative system advisory committee, etc., as a public rate determining body instead of a self-determined administrative agency that decides public charges in Korea It should be reviewed as a decision-making body of In addition, it is necessary to establish a special committee on public charges to strengthen the right to investigate, to strengthen the investigation of corporate secrets, to disclose deliberation data, and to democratize public hearings. Stakeholders should be encouraged to actively participate in submissions, hearings, and public hearings. Meanwhile, the role of the Constitutional Court is very important in controlling the mandated legislation so that the increase in mandated legislation, such as this case and the administrative legislation on public charges, does not infringe on the constitutional value. In legislation, it is necessary to be wary of excessive expansion of mandated legislation and to devise effective control measures. You will have to work hard to set it up.