Households and businesses with low electricity consumption rates will be given special consideration when the second phase of the electricity price hike takes effect in October, according to the Executive Yuan.
The government is considering excluding low-consumption households and small businesses from the rate hike, or allowing only a slight increase for them, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) said on Wednesday.
Chen made the remarks after Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said in an interview on UDN TV on Tuesday that a reasonable rate increase should be implemented, since state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) has kept its rates at a relatively low level that does not reflect its costs.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The government is likely to decide on a slight increase in average power rates, after reviewing the power consumption patterns of residential units, small businesses and industries, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said.
The economy, people’s livelihoods and Taipower’s finances will also be taken into account, the ministry said.
Taipower spokesman Roger Lee (李鴻洲) said the company has not finalized a rate hike plan because it has not been given a clear directive to do so. However, such a plan is expected to be finalized by the end of the month.
Lee said all nine independent producers of electricity — Formosa Plastics Group’s Mailiao Power Corp, Taiwan Cement’s Hoping Power Co and seven private power firms — have agreed to revise their contracts with Taipower to reduce their prices. The move will save Taipower NT$1.54 billion (US$51.4 million) a year, he said.
Taipower has lost NT$35.2 billion in the first seven months of this year, which brought its cumulative losses to NT$228.8 billion.
However, with the higher summer electricity prices, which help limit consumption, Taipower earned NT$600 million in July.
The ministry began a three-phase rate hike plan in June last year. The first phase, which accounted for 40 percent of the total planned increase, took effect that month.
The second phase, which is set for October, will involve raising average electricity prices by 9.64 percent: industry rates will go up by 11.49 percent, commercial rates by 10.04 percent and household rates by 4.57 percent, the ministry said.
According to the ministry’s plan, about two-thirds of households and one-third of small businesses that use less than 330kWh of electricity per month would not be affected by the next price hike.
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday bestowed one of Taiwan’s highest honors on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Ambassador Andrea Clare Bowman in recognition of her contributions to bilateral ties. “By conferring the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Ambassador Bowman today, I want to sincerely thank her, on behalf of the Taiwanese people, for her outstanding contribution to deepening diplomatic ties between Taiwan and SVG,” Lai said at a ceremony held at the Presidential Office in Taipei. He noted that Bowman became SVG’s first ambassador to Taiwan in 2019 and
RSS