《TAIPEI TIMES》 Trial to limit air-conditioning at restaurants to 23°C at meal times

By Lin Ching-hua and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

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.

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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.

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.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES