By speaker > Ming-Zhi Gao Anton

Taiwan's electricity market has long been dominated by a state-owned monopoly. It was not until the enactment of the Electricity Act amendments in 2017 that the country began a formal market liberalisation process. However, Taiwan diverged from the conventional model of gradual liberalisation, typically proceeding from wholesale to retail markets and from large to small eligible customers, and adopted a novel and unprecedented approach. Specifically, it fully liberalised only the renewable electricity sector at the outset rather than liberalising all forms of electricity generation. This pioneering strategy was intended to accelerate the development of renewable energy.

After nearly eight years of implementation, the outcomes of this policy experiment can now be assessed critically. This study's primary objectives are to evaluate Taiwan's uniquely liberalised renewable electricity market by comparing it with conventional electricity liberalisation models and to assess its impacts on renewable energy development. To enhance the performance of this specialised market, the Taiwanese government has introduced a range of interventionist measures that distort competition. This study argues that initiating liberalisation of high-cost renewable electricity coupled with market-distorting interventions has led to a structurally flawed and inefficient renewable electricity market in Taiwan.