Taiwan Power Company Faces Higher Fuel Costs Amid Rising Natural Gas Prices
Taipower, Taiwan's state-owned power company, is facing higher fuel costs due to rising natural gas prices. According to estimates, Taipower's fuel expenses will increase by NT$15 billion (US$469 million) per month from August through December if current prices remain steady.
The price hike comes after CPC Corp., Taiwan's main oil and gas supplier, raised natural gas prices in May by 41.58%. This was followed by another 9.34% increase in May. The utility reported a pretax loss of NT$25.7 billion for the first half of this year, up NT$10.2 billion from the same period last year.
Taipower Vice President Tsai Chih-meng noted that gas prices have seen more increases than decreases this year. Every NT$1 rise in the price of natural gas per cubic meter adds about NT$25 billion to Taipower's expenses.