State-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) plans to raise electricity rates for heavy users by an average of 8.4 percent from next month, as rising global energy prices have significantly eaten into its bottom line, snapping four consecutive years of price freezes.
Industrial users such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) would bear the brunt of the hikes, facing an increase of 15 percent.
About 22,000 heavy users would be affected, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement after a meeting of the electricity price review committee yesterday.
Photo: CNA
The rate for heavy users of electricity would climb to NT$3.1039 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), from NT$2.699 per kWh, while the price for extra-heavy users would rise to NT$2.5707 per kWh, from NT$2.2354, it said.
Households with monthly consumption of more than 1,000kWh would see their rate rise 9 percent, it said.
“As persistent fuel price hikes have put Taipower’s operations under heavy pressure, it should [raise electricity tariffs to] reflect costs to keep power supply stable,” Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Chuan-neng (林全能) told a news briefing in Taipei after the meeting.
“Compared with price hikes of between 13 and 45 percent in some countries, Taiwan’s price increase ... falls on the low end of the global price hike range,” Lin said. “We have considered Taiwan’s global competitiveness in the pricing adjustments.”
Global crude oil prices are expected to rise to US$107 per barrel this year, which would push natural gas prices up to US$19.63 per cubic meter, the ministry said, adding that global coal prices are expected to rise to US$307 per tonne.
Taipower would see an increase in costs of about NT$300 billion (US$10.13 billion) this year due to surges in global fuel prices, it said.
To help small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry is freezing rates for major users in six sectors: food processing, farmers, fishers, and department store, movie theater and gym operators.
The ministry is also keeping electricity rates unchanged for households, small-scale retailers, restaurants and schools with a monthly consumption of less than 1,000kWh, in an attempt to prevent inflation from rising further.
About 12.72 million users would benefit from the price freeze, it said.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
AGING: As of last month, people aged 65 or older accounted for 20.06 percent of the total population and the number of couples who got married fell by 18,685 from 2024 Taiwan has surpassed South Korea as the country least willing to have children, with an annual crude birthrate of 4.62 per 1,000 people, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday. The nation was previously ranked the second-lowest country in terms of total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime. However, South Korea’s fertility rate began to recover from 2023, with total fertility rate rising from 0.72 and estimated to reach 0.82 to 0.85 by last year, and the crude birthrate projected at 6.7 per 1,000 people. Japan’s crude birthrate was projected to fall below six,
RSS