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Lauly Li

The China Post

Publication Date : 01-03-2013

Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) party caucus whip Lin Hung-chih yesterday said the KMT is likely to freeze the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant's annual budget before the result of a potential referendum on the issue emerges.

Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) proposed a budget allocation of NT$11.7 billion (US$394.1 million) on Nuke 4 in the state-owned enterprises budget proposal, Lin said, adding that the Legislative Yuan will not review the proposal at the moment.

Lin said the Legislature will possibly freeze Nuke 4's budget, however, the specific details of such a policy are still being discussed by both sides of politics.

Lin said the ruling and opposition party have reached a consensus that in the period leading up to any referendum, the Legislative Yuan will not raise the budget or grant permission for fuel rods to be installed at the power plant.

Lin said both parties agreed that apart from those projects that have already been contracted out to the private sector as well as safety tests, the construction of the power plant should be halted in the lead-up to a potential referendum.

Lin also said that Premier Jiang Yi-huah declared that he will respect the Legislative Yuan's decision regarding the power plant.

Pan Meng-an, the Democratic Progressive Party's caucus whip, said even though the Legislature will not review Nuke 4's budget allocation, that does not mean the budget will be frozen; Taipower can still utilise partial funds from the 2013 allocated budget on Nuke 4 according to law.

The ruling party and opposition will discuss more details regarding Nuke 4's budget, Pan said.

Electricity price to rise 70 per cent with or without Nuke 4: Report

Hung Shen-han, the deputy secretary-general of the Green Citizens' Action Alliance, was quoted in local news reports as saying that according to Taipower's published forecast of natural gas and fuel prices, in 2025, Taiwan's electricity prices will increase by up to 70 per cent with or without an operating Nuke 4.

Hung told reporters that Cheng Ching-hung, chief of Taipower's Nuclear Power Communication Team, was confronted by certain lawmakers and environmental protection organisations recently. Local news reports cited Hung as saying that Cheng accidentally said the aforementioned price hike may come about.

Taipower spokesman Roger Li said yesterday that the company denies such claims, adding that electricity price adjustments and Nuke 4's construction are two distinct issues.

Electricity prices are affected by the differing costs of fuel resources, Li said, therefore it is not directly related to whether or not Nuke 4 is constructed.