Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday said it has no plans to increase electricity rates amid speculation that the state-run utility company might push rates higher for a third consecutive year this year.
The speculation was based on Taipower having posted NT$382 billion (US$12.15 billion) in accumulated losses as of the end of last year after incurring losses of NT$198.5 billion in the same year.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ electricity price review committee is scheduled to meet in March to decide on rates for the next six months at a critical moment when Taipower grapples with higher fuel prices and ballooning losses.
Photo: CNA
Taipower yesterday denied that an electricity price adjustment plan is in the making.
“The company is conducting an internal financial review and will report to the Ministry of Economic Affairs afterward,” Taipower said in a statement. “The company hopes to gain financial support from the government, as it is tasked with fighting inflation.”
The company last year received NT$150 billion in capital and an electricity subsidy of NT$50 billion from the government, with an additional capital injection of NT$100 billion planned for this year to help reinforce its financial health, the ministry said.
Taipower raised electricity rates by 8.4 percent on average in 2022 and 11 percent on average last year in the wake of surging international fuel costs due to the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine, although the hikes mainly affected industrial consumers, namely high-voltage and ultra-high-voltage electricity users, with more than 90 percent of users seeing their power price freeze.
During the last meeting in September last year, the electricity price review committee decided to maintain power rates at an average of NT$3.1154 per kilowatt-hour for the next six months, effective from October last year to March this year, despite higher charges of between 10 and 17 percent for heavy users.
Separately, industrial users consuming over 20,000m3 of water per day must obtain at least half of their supply from reclaimed sources beginning on Feb. 1, the Water Resources Agency said yesterday.
Industrial users who have difficulty obtaining reclaimed water in their area can retrieve and treat wastewater not yet discharged into the sewer system for reuse, or exchange water sources with existing businesses within the same water supply area, the agency said, citing new regulations.
Additional reporting by CNA
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