Taipower losses extend to $955m in H1

Rising fuel prices and anti-pollution initiatives have driven up energy production costs.

Taiwan Power Corporation (Taipower) has witnessed its losses escalate over the past year, losing up to $955m (NT$29.7b) in H1 2019, or $180m more than the $771m (NT$24b) loss it incurred in H1 2018, Taiwan News reports.

According to spokesperson, the negative trend was due to a combination of factors, such as rising fuel prices and government anti-pollution measures which made energy production more expensive. They added electricity prices only rose once in 2018 by 3%, whilst they have remained frozen YTD.

Looking ahead to H2 2019, Taipower expects its situation to ameliorate due to summer rates for electricity.

Meanwhile, state-owned petrochemicals firm CPC Corporation has reportedly made $910m (NT$28.3b) in pre-tax profits over H1 2019 amidst relatively stable international oil prices.