The full reactivation of a Hualien County power plant that was shut down due to damage from Typhoon Nesat could be completed today, easing power supply concerns, the Cabinet said yesterday.
A transmission tower in the county’s Dongao (東澳) operated by Ho-Ping Power Co (和平電廠) and owned by Taiwan Cement Corp (台灣水泥) was brought down on July 29 as extreme weather swept the nation, reducing the power supply by 4 percent and putting the nation in the grip of a power shortage crisis.
The tower was reconstructed on Friday and the installation of two sets of overhead power lines was finished on Saturday in the quickest repair of a power line in Taiwanese history, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said, adding that the power plant resumed operations yesterday and would reach full capacity today.
Photo: EPA
“The trial operation of the Ho-Ping Power Plant’s transmission tower and generators is ahead of schedule. It could reach full capacity by Monday [today] if the activation process of the second generator is successful, which could increase the power supply by 1.3 million kilowatts [kW] to ease the power supply shortage,” Premier Lin Chuan (林全) wrote on Facebook yesterday.
“The capacity of Ho-Ping Power Plant could not be added to the power grid since Typhoon Nesat struck and I want to convey my deep appreciation to everyone, from colleagues who were making repairs on the transmission tower under the scorching sun or directing electricity supply, to people who followed the [government’s] energy conservation policy, for their hard work,” Lin wrote.
After the shutdown of the power plant, the government announced emergency energy-saving measures, with government agencies told to turn off air conditioning between 1pm and 3pm daily until Thursday last week.
The power reserve indicator is forecast to turn “green” from “orange” on Saturday and Sunday as the operating reserve is forecast to rise to more than 10 percent of supply, state-run Taiwan Power Co said.
The national power supply indicator signaled a “red alert” for three days last week, after the operating reserve fell to less than 900,000kW.
Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said an extra 200,000kW might come online today, as a new generator at Talin Power Plant in Kaohsiung could raise its generation.
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