Taipower: There is no electricity price adjustment plan or plan at this stage, and we hope that additional budget will be supported

Taipower stated today (4th) that "at this stage, there are no plans or plans to adjust electricity prices." (File photo)

The electricity price review meeting in September decided not to decide on the electricity price adjustment until December. It is speculated that if Taipower’s additional budget allocation of 71.1 billion yuan fails to receive the support of the Legislative Yuan, the possibility of a supplementary increase in electricity prices by the end of the year cannot be ruled out. Taipower said today (4th), "At this stage, there are no plans or plans to adjust electricity prices, and we hope that the Congress and all sectors of society will fully support the smooth passage of the supplementary budget!"

The Ministry of Economic Affairs held the second electricity price review meeting this year last month. Considering that the budget allocation is not yet clear and the fuel price trend is uncertain, the review meeting decided to prioritize budget allocation for Taipower and maintain the current electricity price and rate. Therefore, the current electricity price and rate will be maintained from October 1 to the end of the year. Since the electricity price adjustment has not yet been decided, it will be discussed again when it is incorporated into the third electricity price review meeting to review the transmission and distribution rates in December this year.

The outside world is concerned about whether electricity prices will make up for the increase. Taipower said today (4th) that international fuel prices have risen sharply in recent years. The government has joined hands with oil and electricity to "withstand inflation" to stabilize domestic prices and mitigate the impact of rising international fuel prices for domestic industries and people's livelihood. The Executive Yuan has recently finalized the 2015 supplementary budget, and has budgeted 71.1 billion yuan to allocate Taipower to Taiwan Power. This move is actually to take care of people's livelihood and protect them from the direct impact of soaring fuel prices. Taipower emphasized, "At this stage, there are no plans or plans to adjust electricity prices, and we hope that the Congress and all sectors of society will fully support the smooth passage of the supplementary budget!"

Taipower pointed out that the war in the Middle East caused fuel prices to increase by more than 60% from March to August this year. As of the end of August this year, Taipower’s natural gas fuel costs had increased by more than 70 billion yuan compared with before the US-Iraq war. Taipower absorbs fuel costs and prevents sharp increases in international energy prices from being immediately reflected in electricity prices. The government then allocates part of the costs through the budget. In essence, the government shares the cost of stabilizing electricity consumption for people's livelihoods and reduces the impact of people's livelihoods on international energy price fluctuations.

Taipower emphasized that it will strive to continue to increase revenue and reduce expenditure through various measures to reduce the impact of international fuel prices on finance and electricity price costs. It also called on Congress and the people to jointly support additional budgetary subsidies so that Taipower can continue to provide reliable power for people's livelihood and industry.