A new electricity pricing scheme is expected to take effect in April at the earliest, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday, citing smooth negotiations with lawmakers.
“Electricity rates are likely to decrease after the new formula goes into effect in light of weak global crude oil prices,” Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng (鄧振中) told reporters after a public hearing at the legislature in Taipei.
The ministry aims to have the new pricing formula approved before the current legislative session concludes on Jan. 23, Deng said.
If the approval procedure goes smoothly, the public will receive electricity bills based on the new formula by June next year, he said.
Deng said that because the ministry has removed a reconstruction cost from the pricing formula, he thinks a “reasonable” profit margin should be included in the formula.
By boosting the profit margin in the new electricity pricing formula, state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) could repay its accumulated debt of NT$208.4 billion (US$6.56 billion) in the next 10 years and improve its financial structure, he said.
Taipower said on Tuesday that it was hoping for a “reasonable” increase in the profit margin to 6 percent from the current 3.42 percent.
The ministry declined to disclose how much the profit margin should be increased.
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