The Ministry of Economic Affairs said Tuesday it would postpone a decision on electricity pricing due to volatile global fuel prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and fears over inflation.

The ministry’s semiannual review of electricity rates — which should have produced a decision on pricing — was held earlier on Tuesday.

Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Chuan-neng (???) told reporters after the meeting that a decision on pricing would be held off until June 29 at the latest following the advice of a panel of experts.

The panel had argued that incorporating current high fuel prices into the government’s formula for the pricing of electricity would lead to a hike in energy prices, causing already rising consumer prices in Taiwan to spike further, the ministry said in a statement.

After hitting a 14-year high of US$133.18 a barrel on March 8, the benchmark Brent crude spot price dropped 11.3 percent in three days to hit US$118.11 by March 11, as progress was made in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

The ministry said that such volatility was also being seen in the markets for coal and natural gas.

Citing the 2.36 percent year-on-year increase in the consumer price index in February, the ministry said it would hold an extra meeting to review the pricing of electricity before June 29, as more time was needed to evaluate the movements of global fuel prices, and for the situation in Ukraine to become clearer.

The ministry’s semiannual reviews of electricity pricing, held in March and in September, have not raised rates since a 3 percent hike introduced in April 2018, which was imposed amid rising global energy prices.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel