The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday called for an immediate reform of the energy industry to liberalize the local electricity market and end the monpoly of state-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower).
As a supporter of the development of alternative energies, the DPP has realized that no steps can be taken toward that goal until Taipower’s monopoly is eliminated, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said.
Su announced the establishment of a taskforce to amend the Electricity Act (電業法) during a weekly meeting on major policy issues.
Photo: Tang Tsai-hsin, Taipei Times
There has been no major amendment to the act, which regulates the nation’s power production, distribution and management, in almost five decades and the last time the act was overhauled was in 1965, Su said
The DPP said that the current dispute over the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), was related to the opacity of Taipower’s operations, as well as the monopolistic structure of the energy market.
“As the only buyer and seller on the market, Taipower has been able to dictate and influence national energy policy for decades, which is a mistake that has to be corrected as soon as possible,” Su said.
The state-owned electricity provider’s domination of the market is why it has been reluctant to devote efforts to developing alternative and “green” energies, such as solar and wind power, Su said
The result is that renewable energies accounted for only 3.56 percent of national power output in 2011, he added.
DPP caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) has been appointed convener of the task force, which plans to submit a draft amendment on the act with the aim of liberalizing electricity production, distribution and sale and promoting alternative energy, DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said.
VOTERS’ CHOICE: The DPP’s Chen and independent candidate Huang conceded defeat before 7:20pm, with Chiang pledging to remain humble and do his best Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday won the Taipei mayoral election, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate defeating the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) pick, former minister of health and welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), and former Taipei deputy mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), an independent. After polling stations closed at 4pm, the Taipei Election Commission issued a preliminary estimate that voter turnout in the city was about 64 percent, slightly lower than in 2018. Chiang, 43, is to be the youngest Taipei mayor ever, with the KMT regaining the capital after eight years. Chen had an exceptionally high national approval rating when he was head
A naval landing craft on Thursday sank near Kinmen County after wet weather and rough seas flooded its cabin, the Naval Fleet Command said. The vessel, called Landing Craft Mechanized 1326, had completed transport and replenishment missions in the county and was returning to Taiwan proper when surging waves flooded the cabin, the navy said in a statement. The craft’s five crew members tried to bail out the water to no avail, the Navy said. The landing craft eventually sank off Kinmen’s Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣) at 5:18pm, although all crew members rescued, it said, adding that the precise cause of the sinking
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Chiang was effective in running a cautious campaign to avoid making mistakes, waiting for other candidates to slip up, an analyst said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei Mayor-elect Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) stood out among his rivals due to his energy, his die-hard supporters and his relative openness to discuss issues such as same-sex marriage, a political analyst said yesterday. Chiang’s campaign was also aided by his family’s background in politics, which helped him garner greater support in Taipei where there is a large KMT base, said the analyst, who chose to remain anonymous. “Chiang is also not a typical KMT member when it comes to certain issues, such as gay marriage, and his more open stance widened his support base — particularly among young
TOURIST HOTSPOT: The air charter services would drastically cut travel time to the world-renowned beach with its service to Caticlan, instead of Kalibo Royal Air Philippines is to launch next month direct flights between Taiwan and the Philippine city of Caticlan, a closer entry point to tourist hotspot Boracay. The airline will initially offer six charter flights between Dec. 26 and Jan. 15, with the flight frequency increasing to one per day during the Lunar New Year and winter holidays from Jan. 19 to Feb. 8, it announced at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The charter flight services will drastically cut travel time to Boracay to about two hours and 45 minutes. Before the new route is launched, travelers from Taiwan who
RSS