Taiwan expands energy audit rules to 4,900 firms

Companies above 800 kW must map power use before filing five-year plans.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will require major energy users with contracted power capacity above 800 kilowatts to conduct energy audits under regulations announced on 18 May.

The "Regulations Governing Energy Audit and Establishment of Energy Conservation Plans for Energy Users" require audits to be completed between 2026 and 2027.

The requirements expand existing obligations on about 4,900 major energy users, who must already achieve annual average electricity savings of 1% or 1.5%, depending on contracted power capacity.

Based on audit findings, users must submit five-year energy conservation plans to MOEA by the first quarter of 2028 and file annual progress reports.

The regulation forms part of Taiwan's "Deep Energy Saving Action Plan," launched by the Executive Yuan in 2024 to save 20.6 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity over four years.

Since the plan launched, combined savings had reached 12.068 billion kWh as of April 2026, with major energy users contributing more than 2.9 billion kWh of that total.

Savings from January to April 2026 alone totalled about 1.17 billion kWh, cutting natural gas demand for power generation by roughly 164,000 metric tonnes—equivalent to the gas supply from about 2.7 liquefied natural gas tankers.

“Through mandatory energy audits and five-year energy conservation plans for major energy users, the energy-saving potential in energy-intensive facilities can be fully identified,” MOEA said in a statement.

It added that the measures would also support the development of energy audit technologies and energy-efficiency services.

Energy audit teams may comprise professionals from accredited organisations, academic institutions, research institutes, or licensed professional engineers.

The teams will assess existing equipment and identify energy-saving opportunities across facilities, MOEA said.

MOEA will establish an Energy Audit Information Section to help major energy users find suitable audit service providers.

To support investment in energy-saving projects, the government will offer financial incentives, including investment tax credits under Article 10-1 of the Statute for Industrial Innovation, which expands eligible projects and raises the maximum investment deduction cap to $62.3m (NT$2b).

The government will also subsidise Energy Service Company performance-guaranteed projects, waste heat and cold recovery projects, and energy-efficient power-driven utility equipment.

(US$1 = NT$32.10)