Taiwan business groups urge support for CPC and Taipower subsidies

Eight major business organizations in Taiwan have issued a joint statement urging the Legislative Yuan to approve budget allocations to subsidize CPC Corporation, Taiwan and Taipower. The groups argue these subsidies are necessary to mitigate the impact of international energy price volatility on industrial operations and consumer prices.

The Executive Yuan has proposed a budget supplement to provide NT$71.1 billion to Taipower and NT$109.8 billion to CPC, alongside a NT$233.8 billion capital increase for CPC. These measures aim to address losses incurred by the state-owned enterprises while attempting to stabilize domestic energy and commodity prices.

The business groups proposed two primary recommendations: first, that the government establish transparent oversight mechanisms to distinguish policy-driven losses from operational responsibilities; and second, that a fair and predictable energy pricing mechanism be created to prevent cost transfers to industries, such as excessive cross-subsidization or the concentrated burden of energy transition costs on industrial users.