The Ho-Ping power station in Hualien County returned to full generating capacity on Monday after a transmission tower that was blown down during Typhoon Nesat on July 29 was repaired, bringing welcome relief from power rationing.
This summer’s power shortages are a test of Taiwan’s determination to do away with nuclear power, and the nation seems to have passed.
Overall, it is gratifying to see the central government’s firm resolve. Despite rationing, the Presidential Office, Executive Yuan and Ministry of Economic Affairs have not strayed from their determination to scrap nuclear energy.
Even if this policy is further criticized, it looks as though the government will stick to cutting energy consumption and developing “green” energy.
Changing energy resources would encourage energy saving and green energy businesses, but Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) does not seem to have grasped this point, so it is good to see that Premier Lin Chuan (林全) and former minister of economic affairs Lee Chih-kung (李世光) have not done a U-turn over Taipower’s troubles.
However, perhaps the government should say more about the potential for electricity shortages to stimulate new industries.
Some government departments complained about power rationing because they had to switch off their air-conditioning at midday. It would not have mattered if the complaints came from ordinary members of the public, but a number of civil servants were seen complaining in the media. Are civil servants not supposed to go along with government policies and persuade the public to accept them by explaining why they are needed?
By getting plenty of cheap electricity from nuclear power stations — built in an active earthquake zone — Taiwan has avoided power shortages for many years.
However, people are aware of the risk of a nuclear accident. The recent energy shortages have shown that people in Taiwan can rationally weigh the inconvenience of power rationing against the risk of a nuclear disaster, and they deserve applause for their wise choice to put up with rationing rather than risk something worse.
However, people must face that power rationing will happen occasionally during the transition from conventional to alternative energy sources. If we are not willing to be inconvenienced and change our electricity-use habits, a smooth changeover would not be possible.
The way last week’s electricity rationing crisis was handled should serve as a case study for the Democratic Progressive Party. Many groups are likely to sidle up to the government and whisper in its ear. The government must know how to discern these groups’ narrow demands, which are mostly concerned with their own interests.
If the government thinks those interests represent what the public wants, it should not be surprised when it scores badly in opinion polls. The good thing is that, in its handling of issues such as the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) assets, pension reform and the electricity rationing crisis, President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) government is at last getting the hang of things.
If the Tsai administration can distinguish between the opinions of lobby groups and those of the silent majority, it may see some improvement at the polls. It must understand that the reason the majority chooses to stay silent is that when an executive has the support of a legislative majority, people expect it to give a perfect performance.
With the majority of people staying quiet, the government must listen harder to find out what the public really wants.
Huang Chin-yin is chairman of Tunghai University’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Enterprise Information.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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