Taiwan Water Corp (TWC) chairperson Lee Jia-rong (李嘉榮) yesterday said the state-owned utility is evaluating the potential adjustment of water prices, a measure that if approved would likely target heavy users.
At an event held in Taichung to celebrate TWC’s 50th anniversary, Lee made the remarks when asked if water prices could rise for the first time in 30 years.
The utility is looking to expand its existing four-tier pricing system to a six or seven-tier system, meaning that bills would be progressively higher as water usage increases, he said.
Photo: CNA
As of Aug. 9, last year, the rates imposed by TWC are NT$7.35, NT$9.45, NT$11.55 or NT$12.075 per cubic meter of water, depending on the volume of water used and if the bill is issued monthly.
Users who consume 50m3 of water or less per month, which is about 92 percent of all users, would not see much of a change, Lee said, adding that if anything, the price they are charged could fall.
Most water users pay NT$200 to NT$300 per month, and could see a price cut of about 2 percent with the introduction of an expanded tier system, he said.
However, that would also mean heavier users would see prices rise in line with their consumption level, Lee added.
Given that such an adjustment plan concerns people’s livelihoods and the economic development, different opinions on the issue are expected, Lee said.
Any water rate adjustments would have to be screened and approved by the Water Tariff Review Board under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, he said.
TWC later released a press statement saying that Lee’s comments reflect internal discussion at the company.
However, there are no concrete plans, the company said, adding that TWC would weigh up a range of factors, including commodity prices, the financial situation at TWC and the stability of supply, before proposing a water rate adjustment plan.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RSS