IPPs blame Taipower for shortages

Wang Lo-far (王塗發), head of department of economics at National Chung Hsing University supported private power suppliers' claims, saying that quick implementation of the Electricity Utility Law is the only way to solve these problems.

"The government should accelerate its pace in enacting the law and liberalizing the market, as these problems would be solved under the influence of market mechanisms," Wang said.

A new version of the Electricity Law has recently been sent to the Executive Yuan for review before being forwarded to the Legislative Yuan for ratification.

Chen Chao-yih (陳昭義), secretary general of the Energy Commission under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (經濟部能源委員會) said, adding that the draft will be sent to the legislature by the end of this year.

Even so, he is not optimistic that the law will pass anytime soon, since it took the Legislature two years to review the first version of the law, and then they rejected it.

Chen said that power shortages are likely to continue for the next two years, as it will take Taipower this amount of time to repair transmission systems damaged in the quake.

He added that the situation should begin to improve by 2003 after four private power plants start to supply power, and that by 2005 or 2006 the situation should be resolved.