Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) is to hike electricity rates by 12.5 percent on average for industrial users to reflect fuel cost surges, while leaving tariffs unchanged for households and food retailers like convenience store operators to help stabilize living costs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The ministry announced the new electricity price scheme after an energy price review committee wrapped up its biannual meeting.
That marked the fourth price increase in three years for industrial users.
Photo: CNA
The state-run utility has to rationalize its power tariffs gradually to support its grid construction projects to boost power supply, the ministry told a media briefing yesterday.
Based on the new price scheme, industrial users would see their electricity bill increase by up to 14 percent if they consume more power this year than last year, Taipower said.
Semiconductor companies fall under this category, the company said.
Electricity rates for industrial users whose power consumption drops by at least 5 percent and revenue dips by at least 15 percent year-on-year would remain unchanged to ease their financial burden, Taipower said.
Scooter and component makers fall under this category, it said.
Some industrial users would see less steep price hikes of about 7 percent, if their power consumption falls by at least 5 percent and their revenue drops by less than 15 percent, Taipower said.
After the price adjustments, industrial electricity rates would climb to NT$4.29 per (US$0.1355) unit on average, which is still lower compared with that of South Korea at NT$4.65 per unit in the first half of this year.
Local exporters would remain competitive in terms of power costs, the ministry said.
That is quite different from Taipower’s past mechanism when industrial users that are heavy power users faced more drastic hikes. Now, power conservation seems to play a bigger role in deciding price increases.
The new electricity tariffs are to take effect from Oct. 16 when the summer power rates expire.
The latest price increases would inject NT$15 billion in additional revenue for Taipower in the remainder of the year, while it would add 0.03 percentage points to the nation’s inflation indirectly this year, Taipower vice president and spokesman Tsai Chih-meng (蔡志孟) said.
Taipower expects the price hikes to help narrow its losses to about NT$80 billion per month, as it is still making losses from supplying power to households, Taipower president Wang Yao-ting (王耀庭) told a media briefing.
Electricity tariffs for households stand at NT$2.77 per unit on average, significantly below Taipower’s costs of NT$3.9 per unit, the company said.
Taipower would still need the government’s subsidy and the legislature’s support to absorb accumulated heavy losses of NT$400 billion, Wang said.
The Cabinet has budgeted NT$100 billion in subsidies each for this year and next year, which are still subject to the legislature’s approval.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
RSS