The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday called for clear pricing standards governing the installation of natural gas pipelines, which the foundation said can currently vary anything from NT$30,000 to NT$1 million (US$938 to US$32,150).
The foundation recently surveyed 13 gas companies and found that pricing gas pipeline installation was highly inconsistent, with companies charging extra for 13 different items; application fees, pipeline subsidy fees, gas fee deposits, meter installation fees, blueprint assessment fees and more.
ESTIMATES
The foundation phoned a selection of companies for a rough estimate of prices. Although most firms said the average installation project would cost between NT$20,000 and NT$40,000, some indicated that if the project did not go according to plan, it could cost up to NT$100,000 or even in the millions. Other companies replied that the entire project could be done for a few thousand dollars.
The lack of a standard pricing structure has led to widely divergent profit margins for gas companies and widespread suspicion that authorities are tolerant of such muddled pricing schemes.
“The wide range of pricing causes consumers to doubt that the gas companies are charging reasonably,” said Hwang Yu-sheng (黃鈺生), secretary-general of the Consumers’ Foundation.
APPLICATION FEE
Some gas companies require an application fee of less than NT$100 before they send a technician to conduct an on-site price assessment. However, others say this fee is not necessary, which shows that the authorities are turning a blind eye to the chaotic pricing systems of gas companies, Hwang said.
The foundation called on the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Energy to resolve this matter and set standard fees for each meter of gas pipeline installed. It also urged the government to support legislation governing gas and other public utilities in order to end the problem of dramatic price variations.
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