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| Electric towers run through a town on a hill in Taipei, Taiwan, Jun 17, 2008. (File photo by=Reuters/Nicky Loh) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] TAIPEI: Taiwan will raise electricity prices by an average of 8.4 percent starting from Jul 1 (Friday) in response to rising global energy prices including a 15 percent increase for large industrial users, the economy ministry said on Monday, Reuters reported.
However, prices will not increase for 97 percent of households, the ministry added, following a review of electricity pricing. The government has been trying to contain price rises across the board for consumers to help limit the impact of inflation, including for energy. Taiwan's state refiner, CPC Corp, has been keeping gasoline and natural gas prices artificially low for consumers despite prices of raw materials rising globally. That has generated large losses for both CPC Corp and state-run power utility Taipower. Taipower is expected to see its fuel costs increase by T$300 billion (US$10.13 billion) this year, the economy ministry said.
Speaking on Monday before the announcement, economy minister Wang Mei-hua said Taiwan's energy prices for consumers were already among the lowest in the world. Analysts at Taiwan's Cathay Financial Holding said earlier on Monday that a 5 to 8 percent rise in electricity prices could add another 0.2 to 0.4 percent to the consumer price index this year, though have only a very mild impact on overall economic growth.
