Generally speaking, firms, faced with a regulatory environment, are likely to use more or less inputs than optimal level due to allocative inefficiency of inputs. This paper, first, tests allocative efficiency of fuel inputs and calculates the divergence between the actual and optimal levels of each fuel input conditional on the optimal level of capital stock in Korean thermal power industry. Then, given that each fuel is efficiently allocated. potential reduction of $CO_2$ is estimated over the period 1987~2008. The null hypothesis of allocative efficiency with respect to all fuels is rejected, indicating that thermal power plants fail to attain cost minimization subject do market prices. Allocative efficiency between each pair of fuels is also tested; efficient uses of fuels relative to each other are all rejected. Empirical results indicate that coal and gas are used more and oil is used less than optimal level. On average, more than 10 million tons of $CO_2$ per year could be reduced by achieving allocative efficiency of fuels.