The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday raised electricity tariffs by 3 percent to 25 percent depending on power usage, which would add small extra costs to most households and small businesses, it said.
An energy price review committee at the ministry arrived at the new progressive tariff system, guided by attempts to keep loss-making Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) afloat while striving to avoid feeding inflation expectations.
Starting on April 1, tariff rates are to grow an average of 11 percent across the nation, but 93 percent, or 12.5 million households, would see an increase of 3 to 5 percent, or less than NT$20 in their electricity bills, it said.
Photo: CNA
Residential users that consume more than 330 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month are subjected to a 3 percent hike and the adjustment would rise to 5 percent for users of more than 700kWh, it said.
“We reached the final figures to reflect international fuel price movements,” the ministry said, adding that Taipower’s losses had more to do with elevated international fuel costs following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia rather than the increase in renewable energy.
The new schedule would be sustained through September, meaning more hikes would be necessary in October.
Likewise, electricity bills for small stores that use 700kWh of electricity a month would be subjected to a 3 percent increase, while monthly electricity consumption of between 701kWh to 1500kWh would climb 5 percent, it said.
A total of 760,000 shops, or 84 percent, would fall under the two categories, it said.
The tariff hikes are the steepest at 15 percent to 25 percent for heavy industrial and commercial users that consume more than 500 million kWh of electricity a month and display a rising need for two consecutive years, it said, alluding to chipmakers, Internet data centers and telecom operators.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is believed to be the largest power user given its continued capacity expansion to meet chip demand from Nvidia Corp, Apple Inc, Intel Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and other technology titans.
The ministry halves the hikes for sectors with business declines and keeps the rates unchanged for agricultural sectors, all grades of schools and non-profit organizations.
“The committee will conduct a review and see how these sectors fare six months later,” it said.
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said that a 10 percent hike in electricity rates would push up inflation by 0.12 percentage points a year.
The central bank on Thursday raised the policy rate by 0.125 percentage points to curb inflation expectations.
It remains to be seen if businesses would pass extra financial burdens onto customers and thwart the government’s effort to cool inflationary pressures.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
URBAN COMBAT: FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles from the US made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills simulating an invasion of the Taipei MRT The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei. At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel. First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems. Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
RSS