CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) acting chairman Yang Wei-fu (楊偉甫) yesterday said that the firm tomorrow is to propose a list of punishments over the Aug. 15 blackouts based on a report by the Executive Yuan.
“The list might involve not only frontline operators, but also management personnel,” said Yang, who is vice minister of economic affairs.
“It is a necessary move to meet the public’s expectations,” he told a news conference at the ministry in Taipei.
CPC mistakenly suspended supply to a gas-fired power plant in Taoyuan’s Datan Township (大潭) for two minutes on the evening of Aug. 15 as a contractor — Lumax International Corp (巨路國際) — was replacing power supply components at a metering station.
The loss of supply caused all of the plant’s generators to go offline, forcing Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) to initiate electricity rationing that affected 4.38 million households nationwide for four hours.
Citing the report by the Cabinet, Yang said CPC’s responsibility was greater than the contractor’s.
CPC was found to not have a standard operating procedure for replacing the components at the metering station, Yang said.
The incident revealed that CPC lacks risks management, Yang said.
The company failed to abide by an agreement with CPC that it notify Taipower before replacing equipment at the plant, he said.
CPC and Taipower are still negotiating compensation for the incident, Yang said.
CPC is to establish standard operating procedures and foolproof designs to prevent accidental cuts to the gas supply, he said, adding that it is also to establish a bypass mechanism, ensuring that there is an operational control panel at the metering station before replacing any equipment.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Administration is processing an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a planned natural gas terminal in Datan, Yang said, adding that CPC is confident it would be able to finish construction by 2023.
CPC is committed to restoring reefs along the coast near the proposed site if the work would threaten it, he said.
Environmentalists at a separate news conference expressed concern over the project’s potential to damage reefs.
Taoyuan Local Union director-general Pan Chong-cheng (潘忠政) called for further protection of the reefs, as they are considered an important natural asset by marine experts.
The Taoyuan City Government urged the central government to implement a consistent policy for the conservation of the reefs.
Additional reporting by CNA
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