Taiwan Power Company (Taipower 台電) said yesterday that the current estimated power supply shortage is roughly equal to that generated by three large nuclear generators, and it appealed to the public to reduce power consumption.
After power consumption reached record highs in July, it remained at peak levels through last month due to continuing hot weather, Taipower said.
Earlier this month, the power consumption was 1.5 million kilowatts higher than in the same period last year, it said.
Taipower said that the power supply in southern Taiwan had dropped by 1.1 million kilowatts as some power plants had been shut down due to the relocation of underground pipelines in Greater Kaohsiung after the gas pipeline explosions on July 31 and Aug. 1.
In addition, two power generators at the Linkou coal-fired power plant in New Taipei City were decommissioned on Sept. 1, reducing power supply by 500,000 kilowatts, the company said.
Another generator at a power plant run by Taiwan Cogeneration Corporation (台汽電) broke down recently, reducing power supply by a further 240,000 kilowatts, Taipower said.
To alleviate the pressure on the power supply, Taipower said, it has postponed maintenance of generator No. 2 at its Greater Taichung coal-fired power station.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were