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.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS