Environmental groups yesterday voiced qualified support for an increase in electricity rates, saying that a price hike could boost the energy efficiency of Taiwanese industries and help them achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Electricity rates must reflect real energy costs, a coalition of 12 groups — including the Green Citizens’ Action Alliance, Citizens of the Earth, Taiwan, and the Taiwan Climate Action Network — said in a joint statement before the government announced rate hikes later in the day.
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) earlier that day started the review process for a proposed 15 percent increase in industrial electricity prices and a 10 percent increase in residential electricity prices.
Photo: CNA
Taipower has incurred accumulated losses of NT$380 billion (US$11.89 billion) in the past two years, due largely to soaring gas and oil prices amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, they said.
The International Energy Agency in 2022 reported that the various forms of subsidies Taiwan provided related to fossil energy were worth five times more than the previous year.
A continued failure to adjust electricity prices in these circumstances would negatively affect Taiwan’s push to reach net zero emmissions, its fight against air pollution and the financial viability of Taipower, the groups added.
“Certain individuals have repeatedly made misleading statements that blame the anti-nuclear power movement and renewables for the [proposed] electricity rate hike,” they said. “These statements misguide the public and prevent constructive policy discussions.”
Claims from Taiwanese industries that increased electricity rates would cause them to relocate are exaggerated, as Taiwan boasted the world’s third-lowest industrial electricity prices in 2022, behind South Korea and China, they said.
Electric bills account for just 2.1 percent of the Taiwanese manufacturing sector’s total business expenditures, meaning the proposed hike would increase production costs by 0.9 percent, the groups added.
“We urge large enterprises to review and improve the energy efficiency of their operations instead of obsessing over electricity prices, which would contribute to Taiwan’s transformation to a net zero economy,” they said.
The government should be prepared to deal with the effects of higher residential electricity costs on low-income families and the price of necessities, and strengthen progressive electricity purchasing to counter inequality, the groups said.
Subsidies for energy-efficient household appliances, smart electricity meters and heat-regulating architecture should be utilized to change the public’s energy consumption patterns, they added.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS