COST OF LIVING/Legislature advances amendment that seeks review of power rate change

Taipei, May 3 (CNA) Opposition lawmakers on Friday used their majority in the Legislature to send directly to a second reading a proposed amendment that would give lawmakers the final say in deciding changes to electricity prices in the future.

The proposed revision to Article 49 of the Electricity Act, which covers rate adjustments, requires that any change to electricity rates put forth by the Ministry of Economic Affairs' power price review committee will have to be submitted to the Legislature for approval, or it cannot be implemented.

A motion was proposed by Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers earlier Friday to push the electricity bill amendment directly to the second reading, and it passed by a 58-51 vote.

In Taiwan, legislation must pass three readings to become law. In the first reading, the titles of proposed bills are read out loud and then referred to the appropriate committees for review before being sent to a second reading.

If a motion is seconded by at least 20 lawmakers and passes a vote, it may be sent straight through to the second reading without being referred to a committee for examination.

Introduced by the KMT with support from the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), the bill came after the government said Tuesday that an electricity rate hike put in place in April will not be changed despite a resolution passed by lawmakers to freeze the policy.

At a press conference held before Friday's session, the TPP expressed support for the amendment and sending it to a second reading, and also called for greater transparency and public oversight of the electricity price review committee.

Ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), meanwhile, opposed the change, saying that electricity policy should be handled by specialists, and he slammed the KMT for altering "the rules of the game."

Ker said that even if the amendment were to pass, it could not be retroactively applied, as the price hikes went into effect in April. Also, the formula for determining prices has already been enacted into law by the Legislature, he added.