President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said electricity prices would be adjusted for industrial users, but no adjustments are planned for household users, as she met with Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) founder Bruce Cheng (鄭崇華) in Tainan as part of her ongoing tour of Taiwanese industries.
Rates for industrial users would be adjusted according to the economy, seasonal factors and demand, while companies would be offered incentives to curb their energy use, Tsai said, before she took aim at inaccurate reporting on her campaign pledge that there would be no substantial electricity price rise for 10 years.
“I do not mean to blame the media, but my idea was simplified to give the impression that electricity prices would not be raised in 10 years. Our electricity pricing strategy is based on the principle of maintaining a minimum monthly charge, while adjusting prices according to commodity prices and consumers’ ability,” Tsai said.
Photo: CNA
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) believes that general electricity prices could remain stable over the next decade for three reasons: improved energy conservation and energy efficiency; reduced costs of renewable energy with technology advancement and increasing scale of production; and an amendment of the Electricity Act (電業法) to facilitate power industry liberalization and boost Taiwan Power Co’s (台電) efficiency to bring down electricity prices, she said.
“I know Cheng cares about electricity prices, and I believe we have a consensus on the issue. It is a matter of overall energy policy planning, and there must be a reasonable and sustainable energy policy for Taiwan,” Tsai said, referring to Cheng’s comment in December last year that “anyone promising no electricity price hike is cheating voters.”
Tsai added that establishing a sustainable system is key to building a nuclear-free nation by 2025 and creating a stable domestic market.
After a closed-door meeting with the DPP leader, Cheng described their discussion as “satisfying,” but said that he still had doubts about her proposals.
“We should not put her in a difficult situation, but not raising electricity prices is impossible and there should be a reasonable pricing mechanism,” he said.
“Taiwan imports almost all its energy, so what makes it able to supply the cheapest electricity in the world? It simply cannot. Our electricity prices are not much higher than the nations with the lowest prices, and other nations have prices many times higher than ours,” Cheng said.
Electricity and water rates should have already been raised, even if that means extra costs for his company and others.
Cheng said he was telling the truth and not speaking for any party, and that while what he said might be badly received, he would still speak his mind.
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