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.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS