Additional costs incurred by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower,
Taipower Chairman Hsi Shih-ji (
"With privatization of Taipower to be delayed, we can afford to withdraw around NT$2.3 billion to offset the losses from the nuclear plant['s delay]," Hsi said.
As for the added costs from interest payments on loans and maintaining the site, Hsi said these were all "book losses" and the company had not yet paid out any money.
Viewing the total cost from this point of view, it doesn't "actually amount to that much," Hsi said, adding that the NT$3.4 billion sum would not be passed on to power users.
But at the insistence of New Party deputy whip Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆), Hsi estimated that if the additional costs were to be reflected in a price rise, average users consuming around 300 kilowatt-hours of power per month would see their electricity bills increase by NT$6.
The declaration by Hsi comes only days after he hinted that power rates may have to be hiked -- which would be the first time in 18 years -- to bolster profits that are plunging on the high costs of oil and natural gas.
Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (林信義), who was also at the legislature to answer questions from lawmakers, said the additional costs should be viewed as the "price of democracy." Lin has consistently defended his advice to the government to scrap the plant, saying it was in the best interests of the nation. The beleaguered minister had another chance to defend his stance yesterday under blistering attacks from opposition lawmakers, who said he should take the blame for a misguided policy.
"My original reasons for advising a halt to the plant have not changed," Lin said.
Lin said the NT$3.4 billion in additional plant costs included NT$500 million in extra fees paid to domestic contractors and another NT$2.4 billion for foreign contractors. Interest payments and the cost of maintaining the plant's work site amounted to around NT$700 million.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique