Taiwan's legislature approved rules forcing large new electricity users like chip plants and data centers to build their own power or battery storage, a costly new burden for industry but a step toward a steadier grid.

• Any energy user adding new contracted capacity above a set threshold will have to install a minimum amount of self-owned generation or storage within a deadline.
• The target is heavy users — semiconductor factories and big data centers — whose growth is straining Taiwan's power grid.
• Companies that ignore the rule or fail to fix problems face repeat fines, and penalties for not employing certified energy managers rise sharply.
• Regulators also gained power to publicly name firms that mislabel or hide how much energy their products use.
• Energy suppliers will have to hand over sales statistics to help the government manage demand.

Outlook: The details on capacity thresholds and deadlines now sit with the central regulator, and chipmakers and data center operators will be watching for the cost.