"I was on the committee investigating the collapse of one of those towers," Chern said.
"Some of them are badly-sited. They were built around 1975, based on the old [pre-quake] building code," he said. Many towers are positioned at the top of steep inclines, vulnerable to slope failure.
Chern said that Taipower should pay serious attention to the problem, but has yet to do so. "The lines are so critical they should pay more attention. A typhoon could cause a landslide and knock one down again. They are still at risk -- still a high risk."
Towers and the transmission system are also highly vulnerable to military or terrorist action.
EQE also pointed out in their report on the earthquake that it was the failure of the transmission system that caused the First and Second Nuclear Power plants at Chinshan and Kuosheng on the northern coast to trip off-line, not the quake itself.
The nuclear plants are designed to continue operating in tremors at least twice as strong as the plants experienced Sept. 21.
Operators in the control room were already responding to the shut-down provoked by the power outage when the quake hit, the report said.
The nuclear reactor shut-down only exacerbated the power shortage in the north.
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