Despite the difficulty of promoting a renewable energy policy, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Hwang Jung-chiou (黃重球) yesterday said a policy must be implemented this year.
Speaking at a public hearing on the issue held by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) and attended by government officials, academics and business representatives, Hwang made it clear that the policy must be put into place this year, but added that this would be difficult.
“It may seem like an easy task to promote the policy in theory, but actually it nearly impossible politically,” he said, adding that persuading households to pay higher monthly water fees would be particularly difficult.
As an example, Hwang said Taipei City had once proposed a NT$0.5 hike in water prices, but the plan was met with strong objections from city councilors, even though water in Taipei is cheaper than in other regions.
Taiwan’s water prices, which do not cover the costs of operating the utility, is also cheap compared with other developed countries.
Families spend between 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent of their annual spending on piped water each year, much lower than the 2 percent to 4 percent recommended by the WHO, a local water company said.
Environmental Protection Administration Minister Steven Shen (沈世宏), who also attended the hearing, said that auxiliary measures should be put in place across the board to promote renewable energy, and suggested Germany could serve as a model.
Shen said Germany is the only country in the world that has succeeded in pursuing a stable renewable energy policy.
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