Expect to pay more for utilities as summer electricity rates went into effect on June 1. An average household is looking at NT$440 more per month. Businesses may see their electricity bill double or more.


The owner of this eatery has added electric fans to the shop and only turns on the air conditioner when the eatery is full. Her electricity bill is around NT$9,000 a month most of the year, but soars to over NT$20,000 a month during the summer.

We pay over NT$20,000 (a month for electricity) in the summer. Starting this month, we are making an effort to conserve electricity and turning off everything that's not in use.

The average household consumes 299 kilowatt-hours a month and pays around NT$572 for electricity during the rest of the year. These numbers increase to 420 kilowatt-hours and NT$1,012 during the summer due to higher consumption and unit price.

It may feel like your electricity bill is going up. This is because electricity consumption goes up in the summer and electricity unit prices also go up slightly in the summer.

New rates went into effect in April for users that consume over 500 kilowatt-hours a month. Taiwan Power says most households are not affected and customers can expect to pay around the same amount this summer as they did last summer. Due to global warming, however, electricity usage goes up every year and Taiwan Power says people should try to save electricity with electric fans and energy-efficient appliances.