The legislature on Friday is to discuss a proposal to freeze electricity rates, after opposition caucuses yesterday raised motions calling on the Cabinet to halt a planned rate hike of 3 to 25 percent.
The Legislative Yuan’s Procedure Committee approved two separate proposals on the issue from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucuses.
The KMT proposal said that raising electricity rates could lead to a new wave of consumer goods price hikes.
Photo: Chen Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
The KMT said it opposed Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) implementing the policy, and demanded that the Executive Yuan oversee efforts to review existing energy policies and propose changes that would protect public welfare, maintain steady electricity supply and stabilize the utility’s operations.
TPP Legislator Lin Kuo-cheng (林國成) called on the Ministry of Economic Affairs to issue a comprehensive report to the legislature’s Economics Committee on the nation’s energy policy, pricing structure, and Taipower’s expenditures and income.
The office of KMT caucus convener Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) said that he was happy to work with the TPP in overseeing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on matters of public welfare.
It also said that Fu is considering drafting amendments to the Electricity Act (電業法) to require legislative approval of decisions made by the ministry’s power price review committee.
The power price adjustments would severely affect the consumer price index and people’s disposable income, and such far-reaching matters should be deliberated at the Legislative Yuan, which represents the general public, instead of the few, Fu said.
DPP caucus convener Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said the legislature established its power pricing review committee in 2015, and all resolutions considered the public’s needs.
Taipower is running an accrued deficit of NT$380 billion (US$11.91 billion), Chuang said, adding that the price hikes had considered the legislature’s previous proposals to freeze electricity rate increases for the agriculture and fisheries sectors, schools and social welfare groups.
Separately, the legislature’s Procedure Committee also approved a proposal to have National Audit Office Auditor-General Chen Jui-min (陳瑞敏) make a report on the central government’s fiscal 2022 budget.
The report would also focus on the third phase of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program and budgets for COVID-19 pandemic relief programs, the committee said.
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