The government said yesterday it would revert to using the floating fuel price mechanism on July 1, with the new price effective starting July 2.
Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) said that starting next month, the government would adjust oil prices on the first day of each month using its floating fuel price system.
Yiin made the remarks on the legislative floor yesterday in response to a question about the proposed electricity price rise from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲).
PHOTO: HUANG SHU-LI, TAIPEI TIMES
Yiin said the ministry would announce the electricity price adjustment next week and that the new price would be effective starting on July 1.
The price of electricity would be increased when summer rates take effect from July to October and prices would be adjusted again in November, Yiin said, adding that the government had no immediate plans to adjust water prices.
Recent utility price increases have attracted complaints from the public. When the government announced it would raise fuel prices after taking office on May 20, it originally set the date for June 1, but a change of mind on May 27 brought the date forward to May 28, which led to long lines of scooters, cars and trucks at gas stations across the nation.
At the time, the government raised gasoline prices by NT$6.5 per liter and premium grade diesel by NT$7.2 per liter. The price adjustment next month will be the second adjustment to the gas price since the government assumed office.
Meanwhile, in other related news, DPP Legislator Pan Meng-an (潘孟安) condemned the government yesterday for favoring military veterans and their families by allowing Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) to provide them with electricity subsidies totaling NT$700 million (US$20 million) a year.
“Why should the public help pay the bills for those military veterans and their families? Why doesn’t Taipower give the subsidies to low-income families as well?” Pan said during a question-and-answer session at the legislature.
In response, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) promised to consider canceling the subsidies, while noting that the former DPP government had failed to cancel the subsidies for the past eight years.
Liu said the government also planned to provide subsidies to low-income families and also expressed his confidence that the government would be able to improve the economy.
Responding to DPP Legislator Hsueh Ling’s (薛凌) challenge over the stock market plunge since the new government assumed office, Liu said the government would be adopting more measures to improve the economy.
“There are many factors behind the stock market’s performance and some of them are not under the control of the government,” Liu said. “I believe that the overall economy will be much better by the end of the year when compared to other Asian countries.”
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