A planned surcharge on heavy water usage is expected to be implemented next year, a year earlier than the government’s original plan, as the nation faces its worst drought in a decade, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The ministry also said it would not rule out the possibility of enacting stricter second-phase water rationing measures after the Lunar New Year holiday.
The ministry’s Water Resources Agency said it is planning to propose an amendment to the Water Act (水利法) to add a surcharge for large consumers of water to the Executive Yuan next month and hopes the legislature will pass the amendment in the upcoming legislative session.
Photo: Lin Tsu-hsiang, Taipei Times
Under the amendment, the agency would add a surcharge for users of more than 1,000m3 of water per month, Water Resources Agency Chief Secretary Lai Chien-hsin (賴建信) said.
“We estimate that around 5,885 users will be affected after the amendment takes effect,” Lai said by telephone.
The agency expects to generate about NT$1.6 billion per year in water surcharges, he said.
Manufacturers that reach their water conservation goals, which they must present to the government, are to receive a discount of up to 60 percent from their fees, Lai said.
Apart from industrial water users, Lai said car washes, spa operators, swimming pools and hotels that use more than 1,000m3 of water per month are to also be subject to the surcharge.
The amendment stipulates a 10 percent surcharge for using between 1,000m3 and 3,000m3 of water per month, 20 percent for between 3,000m3 and 6,000m3, and 30 percent on use above 6,000m3 of water, Lai said.
Most companies in the petrochemical, steel, flat-panel and electronics sectors use more than 6,000m3 of water per month, Lai said, adding that large hotels in Taipei also use more than 5,000m3 of water.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it has set up several water conservation measures to cope with the government’s first-phase water rationing.
TSMC said it has suspended water usage for external wall cleaning, plant watering and fire drills at its factories. Those measures would reduce the chipmaker’s total water consumption by 5 percent, it said.
More water conservation measures would be implemented if the government launches second-phase water rationing, TSMC said.
Local electronics companies usually hire tanker trucks to transport water from remote areas to prevent water supply disruptions from affecting factory operations.
Additional reporting by Lisa Wang
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