On May Day, Yang Jiafa, founder of the Climate Pioneer Alliance and a Taipower employee, and several blue and white legislators went to the Ministry of Economic Affairs to protest the NT$100 billion electricity subsidy bill, highlighting the political, economic and energy policy struggles behind Taipower's huge losses. (Previous story: Will electricity prices increase? Taipower’s three scenarios were exposed. Minister of Economic Affairs Kuo Chih-hui: Strive for NT$100 billion in subsidies from the Legislative Yuan. Restarting nuclear power requires a consensus among the entire nation.) (Background supplement: Trump supports "nuclear energy to develop AI." What impact might this have on Bitcoin mining?) On May 1, Labor Day, Yang Jiafa, the initiator of the Climate Pioneer Alliance and a Taipower employee, called on the public to surround the Ministry of Economic Affairs at 10 a.m. today in the name of a "Ponzi scheme" to protest the DPP government's erroneous electricity policy. Many blue and white legislators also came to show their support. Yang Jiafa harshly criticized that officials allocated subsidies just to cover up energy policy mistakes. Over the past three years, Taipower has incurred actual losses of more than NT$550 billion, or an average of NT$320,000 per minute. Taipower’s current debt of 2.6 trillion is enough to build 5 high-speed railways… He pointed out that the government's proposed NT$100 billion electricity subsidy package cannot save the heavily indebted Taipower. The fact that the Executive Yuan dare not say is that the current energy policy is a bottomless pit of money, with hundreds of billions of yuan spent on wind and photovoltaic power each year. He stressed that "only by extending the service life of nuclear power can Taipower survive." The following article will quickly analyze the ins and outs, calculations of all parties and potential impacts of this 100 billion subsidy dispute: Why is Taipower in debt? In recent years, Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) has been selling electricity at prices below cost for a long time in response to soaring international fuel prices and in line with the government's policy of stabilizing prices, resulting in serious losses in the company's operations. As of the end of 2024, Taipower's total debt exceeded NT$2.6 trillion, and its debt ratio exceeded 90%. The huge debt pressure has resulted in Taipower's annual interest expenses alone reaching 32.1 billion yuan. Without the necessary capital injection, Taipower may be forced to significantly raise electricity prices, and its financial situation will further deteriorate, affecting its credit rating and future debt-raising capacity, and it may even face the dilemma of a shortage of working capital. A 100 billion yuan subsidy to save Taipower? The government’s special regulations plan In order to alleviate the severe financial pressure faced by Taipower and stabilize domestic electricity prices at the same time, the Executive Yuan passed the draft "Special Regulations to Strengthen Economic, Social and National Security Resilience" on April 24, 2025. The total budget for this special regulation is NT$410 billion, of which NT$100 billion is planned to be allocated to Taipower. The government claims that the funding is intended to make up for the "policy losses" incurred by Taipower from absorbing rising international fuel costs and cooperating with the policy of freezing or slowing down electricity price increases. The government believes that this move will prevent a sharp increase in electricity prices from impacting people's lives and various industries, especially in the context of possible international tariff shocks, which will help reduce industry costs and maintain industry competitiveness. Focus of the Legislative Yuan: Energy policy and budget disputes However, the Taipower subsidy plan proposed by the Executive Yuan encountered strong doubts and opposition from the opposition party in the Legislative Yuan. The Kuomintang and the People's Party criticized the government's energy policy for its inappropriateness, believing that the fundamental reason for Taipower's huge losses lies in its wrong policy direction. They questioned whether incorporating the 100 billion yuan subsidy into the special regulations was a form of "package smuggling" intended to circumvent the normal budget review process. The opposition party even pointed out that this was simply a resurrection of the Legislative Yuan's original decision on April 20 to delete the NT$100 billion budget allocation to Taipower for 2024. The Kuomintang demanded that the government review the current energy policy before allocating the budget, such as considering the possibility of extending the commissioning of the No. 3 nuclear power plant; the People's Party criticized the government for not providing a complete impact assessment report when proposing the special regulations, and advocated that the allocation should be directly deleted. It also believed that the content of the special regulations had been "watered down" and included items that were not very relevant to the original intention. In response to the doubts, the DPP emphasized that the subsidy was not to benefit Taipower, but to deal with "policy losses" caused by policy requirements, and reiterated the importance of stabilizing electricity prices for stabilizing people's livelihood and maintaining economic vitality. Currently, this special draft regulation is still under review in the Legislative Yuan. Behind the Subsidies: Challenges of Power Supply, Finance and Energy Transformation The controversy over Taipower's NT$100 billion subsidy has an impact far beyond simple government and state-owned enterprise financial issues, and involves deeper concerns and chain reactions. Taipower has warned that without timely funding, the company may have to postpone key grid renewal plans, which could pose a threat to future power supply stability. From an economic perspective, if the special regulations are not passed, a sharp increase in electricity prices will have a significant impact on domestic inflationary pressure;On the other hand, if the subsidy plan is passed smoothly, it may raise concerns about the country's fiscal discipline. Against the backdrop of energy transformation, Unit 2 of the No. 3 Nuclear Power Plant is scheduled to be decommissioned on May 17. In addition, the government has set a target of 20% renewable energy by 2026. How to ensure stable power supply under these changes has become a major challenge. Simply put, the controversy behind Taipower's NT$100 billion subsidy goes far beyond a simple budget allocation issue. It is like a prism, clearly reflecting the complex dilemmas Taiwan faces in promoting energy transformation, pursuing economic development, and facing political realities. In the short term, how to find a balance between avoiding large fluctuations in electricity prices that impact people's livelihood and the economy and adhering to national fiscal discipline will test the political wisdom and negotiation ability of the ruling and opposition parties. However, in the long run, the more fundamental question is: How should Taiwan establish a sustainable energy policy and electricity price formation mechanism that can ensure stable power supply, have sufficient resilience, and be accepted by the general public? It deserves continued attention and in-depth thinking from all citizens. 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