President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said the government would conduct an extensive examination of the nation’s electricity supply system, as she inspected several sites along the west coast that experienced power outages caused by Typhoon Megi.
“This typhoon wreaked havoc across the nation,” Tsai said, while inspecting Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon.
“In addition to agricultural damage, our biggest challenge at the moment is major power outages across the nation, with more than 1 million households still without electricity,” she said.
Photo: Yen Hung-chun, Taipei Times
Tsai said the government would examine other typhoon-stricken areas to check electricity supply problems and come with a more effective mechanism to tackle power disruptions during national disasters.
“We should put a stop to the rampant problem of households suffering power outages whenever a typhoon strikes, forcing Taipower [Taiwan Power Co, 台電] employees to brave inclement weather in every corner of the nation to work to restore power supply,” Tsai said.
“This responsibility falls on the government. We will re-examine all electricity supply systems across the nation to endeavor to better protect them from the effects of natural disasters,” the president said.
Photo: Huang Shu-li, Taipei Times
Nearly 3.9 million households experienced power outages due to Megi. As of 9:53pm yesterday, 359,927 households were still without power, Taipower said.
The president also thanked the nation’s frontline emergency workers, following news that three Taipower workers fell into a 10m-deep valley on their way to Miaoli County’s Touwu District (頭屋) earlier yesterday, with one of them sustaining severe injuries.
The three were taken to Miaoli General Hospital for treatment.
“It is difficult times like these that the good nature of Taiwanese shows through, because whenever there is a person in need following a natural disaster, there are always people volunteering to come forward and work around the clock to restore their fellow citizens’ lives back to normal,” Tsai said.
Following her visit to the airport, Tsai went to Taoyuan’s Sinwu District (新屋) before heading south to Miaoli to visit the three injured Taipower workers.
She also inspected sites in Changhua County and Taichung that were affected by the typhoon.
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