Xinhua Agency, Taipei, March 22. On the afternoon of March 22, the Taiwan authorities 'economic affairs department held a review meeting on electricity prices and rates. After the meeting, it was announced that starting from April 1, electricity prices for industries, households and small businesses in Taiwan will increase across the board, with an average increase of 11%.

Among them, the electricity consumption for people's livelihood will be increased in stages based on monthly electricity consumption of 330, 700 and 1000 kWh, with an increase of 3% to 10%. It is estimated that more than 13.4 million households across Taiwan will be affected. The electricity consumption of small businesses is bounded by 700 degrees, 1500 degrees and 3000 degrees, and the increase is also 3% to 10%. About 910,000 small businesses are affected.

The increase in industrial electricity consumption is even higher. Enterprises that consume more than 500 million kilowatt-hours of electricity every year and have increased their electricity consumption for two consecutive years are listed as "major electricity users", with four-level increases of 15%, 18%, 21%, and 25%, respectively. According to media reports on the island, most of these companies are semiconductor factories and data storage companies. Among them, TSMC, a leading semiconductor company, has the largest electricity consumption, with a 25% increase. The increase in "general industry" was 7% to 14%, affecting about 440,000 industry users.

Taiwan's electricity price adjustment frequency is reviewed twice a year (April and October), and the electricity price adjustment range is set at a range of plus or minus 3%. This time, as Taiwan Power's cumulative losses have reached more than 300 billion NT dollars, the Taiwan authorities said they "had to" increase electricity prices across the board.

Affected by rising electricity prices, Taiwan Railway Company recently confirmed that rail transport fares will increase, and Taipei Rapid Transit also said it will evaluate the fare adjustment. In addition, hospitals, telecommunications, tourist accommodation and other industries have "announced" that prices will increase accordingly.

The Taiwan authorities '"Comptroller's Office" estimated that the increase in electricity prices will have a direct impact on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by 0.12 percentage points, and Taiwan's CPI growth this year may exceed 2%. On the 21st, the Taiwan authorities 'monetary policy authority revised up its annual CPI growth forecast to 2.16%.

"Facing up to the impact of rising electricity prices on people's livelihood""Rising electricity prices may start a chain of price increases""Rising electricity prices will trigger a domino effect and prevent price hikes"... Professor Chen Guiduan of Feng Chia University and other scholars wrote to the media to express their concerns. According to an online media survey on the island, since the Democratic Progressive Party came to power in 2016, electricity prices have only increased but not decreased. They have increased four times, with a cumulative increase of 33.4%. The China Times reported that it is quite ironic to compare with the announcement by the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities when he first took office that "electricity prices will not rise significantly in 10 years."