Additional costs incurred by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower,
Taipower Chairman Hsi Shih-ji (
"With privatization of Taipower to be delayed, we can afford to withdraw around NT$2.3 billion to offset the losses from the nuclear plant['s delay]," Hsi said.
As for the added costs from interest payments on loans and maintaining the site, Hsi said these were all "book losses" and the company had not yet paid out any money.
Viewing the total cost from this point of view, it doesn't "actually amount to that much," Hsi said, adding that the NT$3.4 billion sum would not be passed on to power users.
But at the insistence of New Party deputy whip Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆), Hsi estimated that if the additional costs were to be reflected in a price rise, average users consuming around 300 kilowatt-hours of power per month would see their electricity bills increase by NT$6.
The declaration by Hsi comes only days after he hinted that power rates may have to be hiked -- which would be the first time in 18 years -- to bolster profits that are plunging on the high costs of oil and natural gas.
Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (林信義), who was also at the legislature to answer questions from lawmakers, said the additional costs should be viewed as the "price of democracy." Lin has consistently defended his advice to the government to scrap the plant, saying it was in the best interests of the nation. The beleaguered minister had another chance to defend his stance yesterday under blistering attacks from opposition lawmakers, who said he should take the blame for a misguided policy.
"My original reasons for advising a halt to the plant have not changed," Lin said.
Lin said the NT$3.4 billion in additional plant costs included NT$500 million in extra fees paid to domestic contractors and another NT$2.4 billion for foreign contractors. Interest payments and the cost of maintaining the plant's work site amounted to around NT$700 million.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
The Executive Yuan yesterday warned against traveling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uighur labor. The government is aware that Taiwan-based influencers and businesses are being asked to make pro-Beijing content and offered incentives to invest in the region, Executive Yuan acting spokeswoman Julia Hsieh (謝子涵) told a news conference. Taiwanese are urged to be aware of the potential personal and reputational harm by visiting or operating businesses in China, Hsieh said, adding that agencies are fully apprised of the situation. A national security official said that former Mainland
RSS