Global chip hub Taiwan to raise power prices as fuel costs soar

TAIWAN’S industrial sector, including the world’s largest contract chipmaker, will be hit with the island’s first power price increase in 4 years as the state-owned utility grapples with soaring fuel costs.

Taiwan Power Co has proposed increasing electricity costs by at least 8 per cent for industrial users, the Taipei-based Commercial Times reported, without saying where it got the information. The Ministry of Economic Affairs is set to hold a meeting Monday (Jun 27) to review electricity rates.

Taiwan relies on imported coal and natural gas for most of its power, and the price of both fuels has soared this year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended global trade flows. At the same time, electricity use in Taiwan has hit new records in recent days amid hot weather and a strong industrial rebound after the pandemic. 

The island’s large industrial users include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the most advanced maker of chips for everything from smartphones to automobiles, which said earlier this month it expects revenue to grow about 30 per cent in 2022. TSMC did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

In addition to increasing rates for industrial users, Taipower has also suggested raising prices for large residential consumers in a move that will leave about 97 per cent of the island’s homes unaffected, according to the Commercial Times. BLOOMBERG