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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Electricity rates could rise almost 6％ on average
A woman checks an electricity meter in an apartment building in New Taipei City in an undated photograph. Photo: CNA
DEBT WOES: The increases, aimed at generating NT$50 billion in revenue, would put rates closer to Taipower’s costs, but it is still unlikely to break even this year, it said
/ Staff writer, with CNA
An internal report of state-owned Taiwan Power Co （Taipower, 台電） showed that the company is seeking government approval to raise electricity rates by almost 6 percent on average to make up for huge losses.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs would next week hold a power rate assessment review meeting to discuss whether Taipower would be allowed to hike electricity rates next month.
The state-run company has shouldered NT$422.9 billion （US$12.82 billion） in accumulated losses.
To prevent further losses, the company needs to generate an additional NT$50 billion in revenue this year through electricity rate hikes, Taipower said.
Its report showed that rates for household users and small businesses, which consume less than 330 kilowatt-hours （kWh） a month, would be raised by 11 to 33 percent.
Bills for household users and small businesses that consume more than 330kWh a month would rise no more than 10 percent under a progressive tariff mechanism, the report showed.
Rates for the industrial sector are expected to be raised no more than 5 percent, it said.
The measures would bring average rate hikes to almost 6 percent as a whole, it said.
Taipower considered rate increases after the Legislative Yuan cut the general government budget plan, including two NT$100 billion subsidy projects for the power company, as well as other subsidies that would be added to its construction funds for outlying islands, the utility said.
Earlier this week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo （郭智輝） said the ministry would account for the rate hikes effects on inflation, adding that the government is determined to keep the local consumer price index （CPI） from rising more than 2 percent, an alert level set by the central bank.
In the first two months of this year, the CPI grew 2.12 percent, while the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics late last month forecast that inflation would reach 1.94 percent this year.
The rate hikes aim to allow the power supplier to sell electricity at a price closer to its costs, the Taipower report said.
Taipower chairman Tseng Wen-sheng （曾文生） had said he hoped the local electricity rate structure would be more reasonable, particularly for smaller households and business users.
If the rate hike plan is approved in the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ power rate review meeting, about 13.6 million households and 910,000 small businesses would be affected, Taipower said.
The rates for industrial users, regardless of whether they are high-voltage users such as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co （台積電） or other companies, are expected to rise, it added.
Despite the electricity rate increases, it is unlikely that the company would break even this year, as it has to consider the effect of inflation on household users and the competitiveness of Taiwan’s industries, it said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
