The Executive Yuan has approved a NT$400 million (US$12.69 million) subsidy plan for Taiwanese to swap to more energy-efficient gas-fired appliances next year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Energy said yesterday.
The replacement of older models of natural gas-burning appliances for new ones with Level 1 or 2 energy efficiency ratings would be subsidized, with each household limited to using the subsidy for one purchase, bureau Deputy Director-General Lee Chun-li (李君禮) said.
Nearly 230,000 obsolete gas stoves or gas-fired water heaters — about 7 to 8 percent of such appliances in use — would be replaced by devices with Level l or 2 energy efficiency ratings, he said.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
The subsidies would be valid for purchases of stoves and water heaters made from Jan. 1 to April 30 next year, while the subsidy distribution is to be conducted from Feb. 1 to May 15, he said.
Each purchase of a Level 1-rated gas stove with two or more burners or naturally ventilated gas water heaters would be granted NT$2,000, while each purchase of a Level 2-rated appliance of these types would be granted NT$1,000, Lee said.
Each purchase of a Level 1 power-ventilated gas water heater would be granted NT$3,000, while Level 2-rated appliances of that type would be granted NT$2,000, he said.
The subsidies are projected to reduce natural gas use by 2,037 million cubic meters per year, a volume equal to 81,000 times an average household’s total annual natural gas usage, decreasing carbon emissions by 43,000 tonnes, Lee said.
The effect is equivalent to building 111 Daan Forest Parks, he added.
Power-vented water heaters are also safer due to emitting less carbon monoxide indoors, Lee said.
Details about the subsidy application process and answers to other frequently asked questions are to be published soon, officials said, adding that the public can call (02) 2955-9666 for further information.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, was arrested in Boston last month amid US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday. The arrest of Liou was first made public on the official Web site of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday. ICE said Liou was apprehended for overstaying her visa. The Boston Field Office’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) had arrested Liou, a “fugitive, criminal alien wanted for embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes in Taiwan,” ICE said. Liou was taken into custody
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
RSS