taipeitimes.com
Indigenous groups unequally affected by energy poverty
Add TT as Preferred Source A National Taiwan University study found that energy poverty affects 52.2 percent of disadvantaged households in Taiwan’s designated indigenous areas, higher than 42.9 percent of indigenous households in Han-majority areas. The university’s Risk Society and Policy Research Center conducted the survey from January to March, using questionnaires to poll 578 disadvantaged indigenous households, the research team told a news conference on Thursday. The study was a partnership with World Vision Taiwan, which assists the households surveyed. Shih Yi-jen (施奕任), a post-doctoral fellow at the institute, said that the EU defines energy poverty as using more than 10 percent of all income on electricity. The study revealed significant structural inequality facing disadvantaged rural residents and ethnic minorities in Taiwan, he said. It showed that the median monthly household energy costs surged to NT$2,492, up from NT$1,960 in off-season months, marking a 27.1 percent increase, Shih said. The steep rise in the cost of energy resulted from seasonal electricity price hikes and high temperatures, with a stark increase in the number of households spending more than NT$2,501 a month on energy, he said. About 57.3 percent of families polled have been in arrears on power bills at...
