The Executive Yuan Council today passed draft amendments to the Natural Gas Business Act to empower the energy regulatory authority to review natural gas prices and basic fees on a periodic basis. The draft amendments will be sent to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation.
Premier Jiang Yi-huah said the amendments will safeguard consumer rights while keeping the industry healthy and balanced. He directed the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to work closely with legislators to expedite the amendment process.
The MOEA said that under the current Natural Gas Business Act, the regulatory authority does not have the power to initiate reviews of natural gas prices but since the industry includes public utilities, those prices should be monitored and regulated. Revisions to the act are summarized as follows:
1. Public natural gas utilities should satisfy the demands of households, commercial enterprises and service enterprises before supplying natural gas to other sectors. (Clarification on Article 33)
2. The regulatory authority may review natural gas prices and basic fees on a periodic basis, with assistance from the review committee mentioned in the second paragraph of Article 32. (Addition to Article 34)
3. For greater flexibility and effectiveness, the regulatory authority may commission professional agencies to help conduct business inspections. (Addition to Article 52)
4. In all penalty provisions, the phrase "may be consecutively penalized each time" should be reworded as "may be penalized each time." (Legal style change to Articles 58 to 63)