First Application for Public Natural Gas Utility in Yilan; Public Meeting Scheduled for June 3

Hsin-Yi Natural Gas Co., Ltd. has applied to the Yilan County Government to establish a public natural gas utility, covering Yilan City and Luodong Township, marking the first such case in Yilan. It is reported that storage and transmission facilities will be set up in Yilan City and Wujie Township. The county government will hold a local public meeting on June 3. Yilan County currently only has bottled gas, not what is commonly known as piped natural gas. According to a county government announcement, Hsin-Yi Company applied to the county government in January to establish a public natural gas utility in Yilan City and Luodong Township, in accordance with the Natural Gas Business Act. The public notice period was from February 26 to March 28, during which no other operators applied to establish a public natural gas utility in the same supply area. As the county government did not notify relevant associations or consult bottled gas operators before the announcement, it caused dissatisfaction among the operators, who questioned the county government's lack of transparency. The county government has since issued a meeting notice for a local public meeting to be held on the morning of June 3 at the county government's recreation center, inviting council members, township/city council representatives, public offices, and village chiefs to attend. It is reported that Hsin-Yi Company plans to locate its storage and transmission facilities in Yilan City and also partly in Wujie Township. However, Wujie Township is not within the scope of this supply area application, which may raise questions from local residents. The county government has invited the Wujie Township Office, Wujie Township Representative Council, and Wujie Township village chiefs to attend the meeting to understand the situation. Hsin-Yi Company personnel will explain the relevant business plan at the meeting. The county government stated today that all parties are welcome to attend the meeting to exchange opinions. After the meeting, the county government will compile the opinions from all units, representatives, and residents, add its own comments, and forward the application to the Ministry of Economic Affairs for review.