The Control Yuan yesterday impeached one incumbent and two former officials at Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), as well as a former Ministry of Economic Affairs official, for mismanagement that caused mammoth debts at the state-owned utility.
Four Control Yuan members, led by Liu Yuh-san (劉玉山), launched a probe into Taipower management in April in response to a public outcry over increases in electricity prices. The probe focused on Taipower policies to purchase electricity from businesses using cogeneration systems and from independent power producers.
Control Yuan members impeached former Taipower chairman Edward Chen (陳貴明), former Taipower president Tu Cheng-yi (涂正義), Taipower president Lee Han-shen (李漢申) and former Bureau of Energy director Yeh Huey-ching (葉惠青) for “dereliction of duty” involving “severe irregularities.”
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The Control Yuan meeting approved the impeachment of the four officials and referred them to the judiciary to face possible judicial responsibility for “irregularities” and “failing to safeguard the interests of the company.”
According to the probe, the trio of Taipower officials failed to renew contracts for the procurement of electricity with nine independent power producers in accordance with changes in the nation’s interest rates as stipulated in their long-term contracts, resulting in an extra cost of NT$5.9 billion (US$197 million).
The Control Yuan said irregularities between Taipower and the private power producers included Taipower purchasing electricity from the firms at a higher price than its own electricity generation cost, when its power reserve capacity was already well above stipulated reserves.
Taipower officials often quit or retire only to take posts at private power providers that sell electricity back to Taipower, leaving much room for irregularities, Control Yuan member Yeh Yao-peng (葉耀鵬) said.
Yeh was impeached for granting permission in July 2006 to Hsin Yuan Power Corp, a cogeneration corporation, to install 490 megawatts in capacity when he knew that Taipower had sufficient power reserves, imposing additional costs on Taipower, which began purchasing surplus electricity from the corporation in June 2009.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS