The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday rebutted a report that it was changing its policy to promote liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cars, saying that it would only alter the way subsidies are issued in an attempt to boost LPG conversions.
LPG, which is primarily propane, butane or a mixture of both, can be used alongside conventional gas in an LPG bi-fuel vehicle.
LPG is considered more environmentally friendly than gasoline as it results in less carbon emissions. Last year, the EPA launched a drive to promote LPG conversion, with the goal of converting 150,000 cars in four years and opening 150 filling stations nationwide.
Under the LPG drive, car owners are subsidized NT$25,000 for converting a private car or taxi to the bi-fuel system and NT$2 per liter of LPG they purchase.
However, the EPA made a preliminary announcement that it would cancel the fuel subsidy soon and that the LPG conversion subsidy would be issued only for taxis.
In response, Hu Ching-hui (胡清輝), section chief of the EPA’s department of air quality and noise control, said that as LPG conversions had dwindled, the EPA is re-evaluating the program to find a new way to encourage conversions.
“At its peak, as many as 1,700 cars were converted a month, but now the number is less than 100 a month,” Hu said.
Several factors have contributed to the drop, he said, including dropping gas prices and test results that have found that LPG cars are not as environmentally friendly as the EPA once thought, he said.
“We feel that it is hard to maintain a price gap [between LPG and gasoline] with the NT$2 subsidy. The prices should be regulated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs instead,” Hu said.
The subsidy issued by the EPA will focus on the LPG conversion itself, Hu said, adding that the amount would be increased from NT$25,000 to NT$45,000.
In response to owners of LPG filling stations who have complained that the government was backing down from promoting LPG and would cause a drop in their revenues, Hu said: “We have not made a final decision [to cancel the LPG subsidy] yet, this was just a preliminary announcement.”
When asked whether owners of LPG filling stations would receive government subsidies to recover potential losses if the subsidy is canceled, Hu said: “So far we have no such plans.”
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