A committee will meet tomorrow to decide how much to increase natural gas prices, Minister of Economic Affairs Morgan Hwang (黃營杉) said yesterday.
Hwang said the price increase for liquefied natural gas (LNG) would not exceed 15 percent, while the price of liquefied petroleum gas sold in cylinders would not be raised for the time being.
He said that state-owned Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC, 中油) had been losing money selling LNG in recent months as the cost of LNG is 20 percent higher than the domestic retail price.
CPC has proposed a 15 percent hike, but the exact level will be decided by the committee.
CPC recently announced an increase of NT$1 per liter for gasoline, but provided subsidies for taxi drivers and bus operators.
In the wake of criticism regarding the subsidies, Hwang said there would be no subsidy for any specific groups this time, adding that the government would follow market forces as much as possible, and take into consideration the country's economic development and the public's welfare.
He urged sectors that consume large amounts of natural gas to boost energy conservation efforts.
According to the CPC's calculations, the international price of natural gas has risen by nearly 50 percent since January. In comparison, domestic prices have risen by less than 6 percent.
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