Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) chairman Hwang Jung-chiou (黃重球) yesterday said the company plans to submit its proposal for the last additional budget allocation for finishing the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant — the Longmen Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮) — to the Legislative Yuan in June.
At Taipower’s group offering event for the arrival of the Lunar New Year yesterday, Hwang responded to media questions about the controversial issue of seeking extra funds for the ongoing construction project in the next legislative session.
He said the power plant is in its final stage of construction and has begun pre-operational tests already, and the specific additional budget and construction schedule are expected to be finalized by June.
Responding to a question about how much the estimated supplementary budget will be, Hwang said: “We have not made a final decision yet.”
Taipower has greatly improved its management of nuclear power operations and controls in the past couple of years, and will make certain that the plant is safe, he said, adding that the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) safeguards the plants’ nuclear safety, so Taipower will only move forward after gaining consent from specialists in Taiwan and overseas.
Hwang also responded to last week’s media reports about an AEC official that said that Taipower has continuously postponed the submission date of a requested report on the possible safety threats to the two current operating nuclear plants in northern Taiwan in the event of a massive earthquake.
He said Taipower has already asked geologists to look into the issue and make evaluations of the possible effects, and that the company would deal with the issue very cautiously.
In addition, Taipower will continue to improve the company’s results this year, he said, adding that it hopes the increase in electricity prices can help solve the problem of financial losses caused by the increased cost of fuel last year.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are