Electricity rates are to rise for most people from today as part of a series of structured hikes determined by the Electricity Tariff Examination Council of the Ministry of Economic Affairs on March 22.
According to current consumption, about 9.08 million households (about 68 percent), are to face a hike of 3 percent, while another 3.42 million (about 26 percent), are to face a rise of 5 percent. The remaining households are to see 7 to 10 percent hikes.
During the summer, when households consume more electricity, the state-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) said that about two-thirds of Taiwanese households would incur about NT$700 in monthly electricity costs.
Photo: CNA
After the rate adjustments, which take effect today, such consumers are to see an increase of about NT$21 in their monthly electricity fees, less than NT$1 per day, in the summer, the company said.
The agriculture and fishery sectors, as well as schools and social welfare organizations, are the only groups whose electricity rates have been frozen.
While hospitals are to see their rates rise, the Cabinet decided on Friday to subsidize electricity costs for district hospitals, which would be most affected by the rate hike, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.
General industrial users are to face rate hikes of 7 to 14 percent. Data centers are to see hikes of 15 to 25 percent.
Major industrial consumers who saw an average increase in electricity use over the past two years and consume more than 500 gigawatt-hours per year are to face hikes of 15 to 25 percent.
The plan was brought forward as Taipower faces an accumulated deficit of NT$382.6 billion (US$12 billion) as of the end of this year.
Without the rate adjustments, the state-run company would incur a further loss of NT$188.7 billion this year, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said.
With the rate adjustments and a NT$100 billion subsidy promised by the Cabinet, the anticipated loss is expected to drop to about NT$10 billion, Taipower said.
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