Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) hailed the nation's energy policy yesterday, saying that its success has helped cut production costs.
Ho made the remarks at a ceremony to award 15 companies and 13 elementary schools for their efforts to save energy.
Through their energy-efficient measures, electricity consumption was cut by as much as 140 million units while emissions were reduced by 150,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide last year, helping rack up NT$450 million (US$13.4 million) in economic benefits, Ho said.
Citing government statistics, Ho said that one liter of petroleum was able to yield NT$1.4 in added value in 2004 compared with 2003.
If the nation's energy-saving measures were not in place, the country would need to consume extra 1.5 million kiloliters of petroleum valued at NT$12.8 billion to maintain operations, she said.
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