The Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday announced a corporate restructuring for the first time in its 70-year history.
The company intends to establish four business units to increase efficiency and lower management costs: a power generation division, nuclear power division, a transmission system division and a distribution and service division.
“Being a state-run utility, Taipower carries great expectations of its efficiency and performance. This business restructuring is necessary in order to improve the firm’s efficiency,” company chairman Hwang Jung-chiou (黃重球) told a news conference in Taipei.
Hwang said that by separating the utility’s operations into different divisions it could clarify each unit’s obligations and optimize efficiency.
To improve cost management, Taipower is also requesting each unit to submit financial statements, Hwang said.
“We are a state-run company, so employees must have strict cost control to meet society’s expectations,” Hwang said.
Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng (鄧振中) said it takes time to gradually privatize the nation’s energy market, but Taipower must continue to improve its operational efficiency to become more competitive.
“As to whether Taipower will be privatized, the government has to have further discussions and come up with a deliberate plan,” Deng said.
In related news, Hwang said Taipower’s unaudited combined net income was more than NT$61.1 billion (US$18.38 million) in the first 11 months of last year, thanks to falling prices of international crude products that lowered the firm’s power generation costs.
However, Hwang said the nation’s electricity pricing mechanism stipulates that as the state-run utility can only use NT$17.2 billion of its combined net income every year, he is not certain how much of last year’s net income Taipower could use to pay its accumulated debt of more than NT$190 billion.
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