現行的電業法下，我國只有一家國營的台灣電力公司負擔全國發、輸、配電之任務，我國過去對電力公司合理利潤的規範有其歷史背景，我國的電價以及電業經營所收取之相關費率，依電業法規定，需經過中央主管機關核定，加以台電公司屬於國營事業，訂定費率又受國營事業管理法所限制。現行電價是依據成本加成定價的精神做制訂，成本加成的定價方式，有保障利潤的優點，不可避免的會伴隨著經營效率低落的問題。根據行政院研擬之電業法修正草案，我國電力產業即將邁向自由化，電力產業將不同於現今之國營事業垂直壟斷的局面。電力產業邁向自由化，其所導引的市場機制，會促使電價降低，電業自由化下的電價制度是提供何種誘因，讓業者能獲取合理利潤，並有動機提升自身經營效率？參考國外電業自由化經驗，英國對於電業自由化後，規範電價的方式為設置電價上限公式：RPI-X。適用於我國可修正為CPI-X（即電價的漲幅不超過物價指數減去X值）。電價管制採行電價上限公式，可導入激勵電業改善自身經營效率和主管機關對於電價能有效控管的優點，民眾能享受到因電業間競爭的利益，同時避免訊息不對稱而導致支出不必要的花費。Taiwan Power Company, a state-run enterprise, has been a vertically integrated firm monopolized electricity industry for 60 years in Taiwan. The Executive Yuan had submitted the draft of Electricity Act. According to the draft, the electricity industry were be deregulated. After implementation of electricity industry liberalization, Price-cap regulation should be introduced. Price-cap regulation, as an alternative to traditional rate -of-return regulation, developed as a practical regulatory tool in the early 1980s in Britain. A standard price-cap in the UK ( RPI-X ) or Taiwan ( CPI-X ) involves the regulator setting an initial maximum price. This maximum price then rises in line with the main index of retail prices (the retail price index in the UK and consumer price index in Taiwan), but falls at a rate X set in advance by the regulator. The value of X is meant to reflect potential cost savings by the electricity firm due to either increased efficiency or technological progress. The X factor enables these cost savings to be shared with consumers without adversely effecting the incentives of the firm to minimise and achieve these savings.
