In a bid to set fair domestic electricity rates, legislators yesterday reached an agreement on a new electricity pricing mechanism, which will cap annual electricity rate increases at 6 percent.
The new pricing scheme will take effect in April at the earliest, with legislators saying that as international crude oil prices are likely to continue to fall, it is expected that electricity rates will fall after consumers receive their June electricity bills, Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng (鄧振中) told a media briefing.
Based on the new pricing scheme, state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) is required to adjust its electricity rates every six months in accordance with the fluctuation of fuel costs, including the prices of crude oil, coal and natural gas, Deng said.
Price increases will be limited to 3 percent every six months, or 6 percent on an annual basis, he said.
“On the other hand, Taipower has to completely reflect the falling costs of power generation in the electricity prices if there are any,” Deng said.
Lawmakers also agreed to a “reasonable” profit margin of between 3 percent and 5 percent for Taipower.
As of last year, Taipower had accumulated NT$193.5 billion (US$613.31 million) in losses, Deng said. To help write off the losses, lawmakers agreed to allow Taipower to enjoy a profit margin of 5 percent at most until the company clears the debt, Deng said.
“After Taipower pays off its accumulated losses, the ‘reasonable’ profit margin will be set at 3 percent,” Deng added.
That reasonable profit margin range would guarantee the company a profit of between NT$10.5 billion and NT$17.4 billion a year, Taipower chairman Hwang Jung-chiou (黃重球) said, citing a company estimate.
Hwang said although the new pricing mechanism begins in April, Taipower would still increase summer electricity rates between June and September.
“The summer electricity price increase has been in force for more than two decades to conserve energy and we will continue with the policy to encourage people to conserve energy,” Hwang said.
Hwang said that the cost of developing renewable energy sources had also been factored into the pricing mechanism.
“Households which use 400 kilowatt-hours per month will pay NT$4 more per month to pay for renewable energy development,” Hwang said. “That said, we are still confident that electricity rates in April will be lower than the current rates due to the decline in global oil prices.”
During the meeting, lawmakers agreed to review the electricity pricing mechanism again in two years.
Separately, lawmakers requested that the Executive Yuan send an amendment to the Electricity Act (電業法) to the legislature for deliberation within six months.
“We will give the proposal to the Cabinet at the beginning of February at the latest,” Deng said.
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS