Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (
Lin yesterday traveled to the state-run Taiwan Power Co's (Taipower,
The minister confirmed that thick, seasonal fog that rolls in from the sea had caused a build-up of salty crystals on insulators covering transmission lines and led to a malfunction at the plant, sparking a fire when back-up generators were engaged.
PHOTO: HUNG CHEN-SHENG, TAIPEI TIMES
"Although Taipower had scheduled a clean-up of the current insulators between March 17 and March 20, it was caught by surprise by the incident on the night of March 17," Lin said.
Indeed, Lin was at pains not to describe the incident as a nuclear accident, instead preferring to call it a power transmission problem, adding that there was no radiation leak.
While not blaming Taipower directly for the incident, he did say there was "room for Taipower to improve" and suggested increasing the frequency of maintenance work on transmission lines and replacing damaged insulators.
Power supply was restored to the plant within two hours of the stoppage, according to Taipower.
Lin said it would take three weeks to repair the damage and additional time after that to run tests.
This latest incident was likely to spark renewed debate over whether Taiwan should rely on nuclear power for energy. In February, President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) anti-nuclear government bowed to opposition pressure and decided to resume construction of a US$5.5 billion nuclear plant, the nation's fourth.
Chen Chao-yi (
A category four emergency could lead to an overall evacuation of local residents, according to Taipower's security guidelines.
Taipower said it had declared a category 3A emergency because the power outage lasted more than 15 minutes.
Hsi Shih-chi (
"This incident will strengthen Taipower's ability to deal with such events," Hsi said, adding that with improved maintenance measures it was unlikely such an incident would occur again.
KMT lawmaker Chu Fong-chi (
She warned that this poses a grave risk to the future management of the nation's Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
Lin, however, said the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant will be much safer than the other three, and said he would not give an order to stop construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, despite the incident.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a