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.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS