An increase in electricity rates, which is imposed every year in the summer to discourage high consumption, began yesterday with a potential maximum increase of 27 percent, state-run Taipower Power Co (Taipower, 台電) said.
Introduced in 1989, the increased summer rates usually take effect from June 1 to Sept. 30, and are calculated for each household or company based on their consumption, Taipower said.
This year, the summer hike would range from zero to 27 percent from the standard rates for October to May, it said.
Under the increased rate system, the average household is expected to pay NT$410 more per month. Average household consumption in Taiwan is 404 kilowatt-hours per month in summer, 40 percent more than during the rest of the year, Taipower spokesperson Hsu Tsao-hua (徐造華) said.
Meanwhile, as part of Taipower’s efforts to encourage people to save energy, it is offering consumers a discount of NT$0.6 for every kilowatt-hour of power below what they used during the same period last year, Hsu said.
To be eligible for the rebate, households must register on Taipower’s Web site, via its 1911 hotline or by visiting one of the company’s service locations, he said.
Households that registered in 2018 and last year would not be required to do so again and would be automatically enrolled, he added.
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