SEOUL, May 12 (Reuters) - South Korea's state-run power utility Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) reported on Friday a loss of 6.2 trillion won ($4.68 billion) in the March quarter as politicians remained reluctant to raise electricity bills ahead of an election next year.

It was KEPCO's eighth consecutive quarterly loss, although it was narrower than the 7.8 trillion won loss in the first quarter last year.

Although energy prices soared last year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, South Korea's government was slow to pass on higher costs to consumers and businesses grappling with inflation in other parts of the economy.

Electricity prices, set by the government, rose only 11% in 2022, according to KEPCO data. That was far behind the 64.5% increase in the costs of natural gas, crude oil and coal combined reported by the Korea Enterprises Federation.

The resource-poor country depends on imports for nearly all of its energy, but competitive power costs are also key for the export-driven, manufacturing-heavy economy led by chipmakers and automakers such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor.

KEPCO's debt climbed to 192.8 trillion won as of end-2022, with a debt-to-equity ratio of about 459%.

Electricity bills should rise by 51.6 won per kilowatt hour (kWh) this year, or nearly 43% from the 2022 average of 120.51 won per kWh, to help stop KEPCO's losses and restore its balance sheet health by 2026, the industry ministry estimated in a statement to parliament.

The government in December hiked rates by 13.1 won per kWh for the first quarter. However, second-quarter hikes were delayed after a public backlash about higher bills during winter months, and are likely to be smaller when announced soon, a ministry official said.

In February, President Yoon Suk Yeol had called for a freeze of public utility charges during the first half of the year to ease burdens from higher inflation. South Korea's next general election will be held in April 2024.

KEPCO also announced on Friday plans to cut costs and sell assets to save more than 25 trillion won by 2026. ($1 = 1,320.9300 won) (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Jamie Freed)