Presidential Office in Taiwan takes energy-saving measures, switching off nighttime landscape lighting at midnight starting today.

The Presidential Office of the Republic of China announced the implementation of three new “energy-saving measures” starting from March 3, with the nighttime landscape lighting being turned off at midnight.

According to Presidential Office spokesperson Guo Yahui, as the Legislative Yuan reviews the central government’s total budget, the water and electricity fees are expected to be reduced by 10% without reallocation, and the Presidential Office’s operational expenses are frozen by 70%, which will inevitably put the Presidential Office in a difficult situation in terms of financial support and operational flexibility, impacting its basic functions. In light of this, following the temporary suspension of the Presidential Office’s open house events on holidays starting from February, the Presidential Office will also implement the following three “energy-saving measures” starting from March 3:

First, the lighting in the Presidential Office corridors during the day will be reduced by a quarter, and the nighttime landscape lighting will switch to the lowest light source mode after sunset and be completely turned off after midnight. The nighttime lighting in the Presidential Office was improved during former President Tsai Ing-wen’s tenure, with renovations completed by the end of 2019, and it was awarded the “Taiwan Light Environment Award” in 2020.

Compared to before the improvement, the electricity consumption per hour has decreased from a peak of 214.6 degrees to 45.35 degrees, resulting in approximately NT$6.12 million (approximately $196,400 USD) saved in electricity costs. However, in order to reduce electricity expenses and ensure that security work is not compromised, as of March 3, the nighttime landscape lighting in the Presidential Office will switch to the lowest light source brightness mode after sunset (5 p.m. in winter time, 6 p.m. in summer time) and be completely turned off after midnight. In addition to nighttime lighting, the daytime corridor lighting in the Presidential Office will be reduced by a quarter, maintaining only basic and adequate lighting.

Second, energy-saving measures will be promoted to reduce the operating time of the chiller units, with air conditioning only providing ventilation in winter and shutting down the cooling system one hour earlier in summer, with temperatures kept above 28 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the water flow from public area faucets will gradually be reduced, water-saving devices will be installed, water conservation will be promoted, and the frequency of gardening irrigation and car washing will be reduced.

Third, except for absolutely necessary official needs, there will be a significant reduction in the number of subscriptions to newspapers and magazines, as well as a substantial cancellation of cable TV set-top boxes. This includes administrative consumables such as copier paper, copiers, and printer toner cartridges, with the five major offices taking the lead in self-reducing these items to promote overall waste reduction throughout the Presidential Office.

Guo Yahui emphasized that the Presidential Office has long been committed to cutting expenditures on energy and administrative resources, and under the current situation of uncertain budget thawing timelines, the Presidential Office will maintain basic governance and operations through the principles of “cutting costs,” “sharing resources,” and “self-management.” In the future, adjustments to the Presidential Office’s contingency measures will be gradually made based on the actual operations and budget thawing schedules of the Legislative Yuan. If these measures cause inconvenience to the public, understanding and patience from the community are greatly appreciated.