A trial program is to limit air-conditioning at more than 1,300 establishments, where temperatures at meal times are to remain above 23°C, the Bureau of Energy said yesterday.
The trial would run until 2025 and complement regulations that since 2014 limit air-conditioning at 20 categories of establishments, with temperatures above 26°C, in a bid to reduce energy consumption in summer, the bureau said.
However, the regulations exempted restaurants and food courts in department stores from 7am to 9am, from 11am to 2pm and from 6pm to 9pm, it added.
Photo: Chang Hsuan-tse, Taipei Times
Operators that cool down their establishments to below 26°C face fines of NT$20,000 to NT$100,000 under the regulations, with repeat offenders facing higher fines.
However, fines imposed in the past few years showed there was “room for improvement,” a bureau official said yesterday.
The trial program would advise operators to cool down their facilities to about 23°C during meal times, the official said, adding that 1°C above or below the recommended temperature would also be accepted.
Bureau officials urged business owners to participate in the trial, saying that the agency would collect feedback from the public to ensure that people do not feel uncomfortable while dining in.
The trial would not impose additional fines, they added.
Some chain restaurant owners welcomed the announcement, saying that their target temperature has been 23°C to 24°C since higher food prices and electricity rates began affecting their business.
A chain restaurant public relations agent surnamed Chen (陳) said that restaurants inside malls cannot independently regulate their temperature, as they depend on the malls’ central air-condition systems.
However, the restaurants would try to comply with any new regulations, Chen said.
The bureau said that conference halls, previously unregulated, would also have to keep their temperature above 26°C.
The Taiwan External Trade Development Council, which manages the Taipei World Trade Center and the Taipei International Convention center, said it ensures that air-conditioners are set at “appropriate” temperatures to prevent excessive power use.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
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The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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