The Executive Yuan yesterday disputed a media report that Minister of Economic Affairs Lee Chih-kung (李世光) and Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) chairman Chu Wen-chen (朱文成) would have to step down in the event of a power outage, while the repair of a major power station in Taichung is hoped to ease the impending shortage.
According to a report yesterday by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times), Lee and Chu might have to resign over possible electricity rationing expected to be announced this week.
The collapse of a Ho-Ping Power Co transmission tower in Hualien County on July 29 caused by Typhoon Nesat and Tropical Storm Haitang has reduced electricity supply by 1.3 million kilowatts, or about 4 percent of the operating reserve.
That was followed on Saturday by the breakdown of a power generator at the Taichung Power Plant, which further reduced the operating reserve by 1.5 percent.
Starting from today, power consumption is expected to climb from the weekend’s low to a weekday high, thereby reducing the operating reserve to dangerously low levels, the report said, adding that the government might have to impose electricity rationing, which could spell the end of Lee’s and Chu’s careers.
However, the Executive Yuan disputed the report, saying there was no plan to replace the two officials and that the government has devoted all of its resources to ensure a stable electricity supply.
The Cabinet also called on the public to help conserve energy.
Meanwhile, a rupture in a power generator boiler at the Taichung plant that was believed to have caused the mechanical failure has been found, Taipower said, adding that the repair was completed yesterday.
The generator started delivering power last night and could reach full capacity during today’s peak hours, which might help avert a possible power outage, Taipower said.
The power supply this week is likely to remain stable, the company said.
The Taichung plant, with 10 generators and a total capacity of 58.23 gigawatts, is the nation’s largest power plant and the second-largest coal-fired power plant in the world.
The transmission tower in the Hualien plant is likely to be repaired by Sunday, but it might not resume full operations until Wednesday next week, the Bureau of Energy said.
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