The Cabinet yesterday approved draft amendments to the Electricity Act (電業法) to boost green power trading by regulating on-grid energy storage and demand response services.
Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Chin-tsang (何晉滄) told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference that 38 of the more than 80 domestic renewable energy vendors have already begun to sell their products.
Once the bill is passed by the legislature, it would facilitate the sale of residual electricity, with prices decided by the market, he said.
Photo: Taipei Times
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement that substantial funding is required to construct power and grid infrastructure, as the power dispatching system is facing challenges from renewable energy and extreme weather, while the government is striving to stabilize power supply and achieve its goal of net zero transition.
Under such circumstances, state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) is expected to be maintained as a vertically integrated electric utility that combines resources related to power generation, dispatch, distribution and sales, it said.
The current act enables renewable energy vendors to sell electricity only to users, while emerging power resources such as energy storage and demand response measures are not explicitly legalized, the ministry said.
Given that renewable energy products and new power resources continue to enter the market, the domestic power trading platform must be reviewed and improved, it said.
Therefore, the act would be amended in line with the practical developments of the electricity market to introduce necessary regulations and address the aforementioned problems, the ministry said, adding that the amendments aim to boost green power trading on the premise of stable power supply.
To deal with transitions in the electric power structure and the market, as well as enable efficient management and open competition, the amendments would go in four directions, it said.
First, Taipower would keep the current operating model without divestiture to synergize resources via its power grid, increasing investment efficiency and maintaining stable power supply.
Second, renewable energy vendors would be allowed to sell energy to each other to increase their operational flexibility.
Third, on-grid energy storage and demand response services would be stipulated to reduce the compliance risk for vendors and include more potential power resources.
Last, the regulatory mechanism for the power trading platform would be strengthened to ensure its impartiality, and the market’s openness and transparency, the ministry said, adding that the platform might develop into an independent trading entity depending on market developments.
The revision of the act would help to build a friendly environment for domestic green power development, as well as enhance the power sector’s operational efficiency, the power grid’s resilience, and users’ rights and benefits, it said.
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