Taipower has completed major repairs of power plants and transmission lines, ending nearly three weeks of power rationing after last month's earthquake, said Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Chih-kang (
Wang, who made a formal report to Vice President Lien Chan (
Power supply to northern Taiwan is expected to return to normal in the next several months. This follows a government announcement that an emergency decree issued shortly after the Sep 21 quake can be applied to facilitate construction and operations of private power projects to relieve electricity shortages in the north, according to Taiwan's Energy Commission.
Northern Taiwan relies largely on the supply of power generated in the south because of a lack of power plants in the north. However, this power transmission system was seriously disrupted after two major substations located in central Taiwan were knocked out by the Sept. 21 quake.
Taipower and the economics ministry are working to build new transmission lines and will speed up completion of planned Taipower and private sector power plants, as well as the island's fourth nuclear power plant, by 2003, Wang said
The measures are aimed at insuring that "there are no similar problems in the future with the transmission of power from central and southern Taiwan to the north," Wang said.
They are intended to make the north, Taiwan's commercial and industrial center, "self-sufficient in electricity," he said.
Much of Taiwan was plunged into darkness Sept. 21 when a massive earthquake toppled transmission line towers and damaged many of Taipower's transformers and generators. Power was restored to southern Taiwan within days, but the north had its power rationed until the end of last week.
It was the second islandwide blackout in the past three months. On July 29, heavy rains caused a landslide in the south, toppling a transmission tower. The power failure affected 80 percent of Taipower customers.
The power outage from the earthquake paralyzed most of the high-tech industry at Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park, about 60km southwest of Taipei. The park has 254 technology companies in six industries, including most of Taiwan's biggest semiconductor fabricators.
Vice President Lien and Premier Vincent Siew (
Park director-general Wang Kung (王弓) said the park consumes about 900 megawatts of power.
The emergency decree will especially advantage Ever Power, an independent power producer (IPP) which commenced operations in June, but is only currently supplying 70-80 megawatts. Due to protests by local residents, Ever Power has had difficulties in constructing adequate power transmission lines to allow it to sell more electricity to Taipower.
Taipower currently monopolizes Taiwan's power transmission and distribution, and IPPs have to sign 25-year contracts with Taipower to sell the electricity they generate to the company.
"If Ever Power manages to clear the obstacles it now encounters based on the emergency decree, it is expected to bring its power supply up to 450 megawatts in one month and increase its supply further in three months to 900 megawatts," said a commission official.
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