Vice Minister of Economic Affairs and CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) acting chairman Yang Wei-fu (楊偉甫) yesterday confirmed that he has been appointed Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) chairman.
Yang is to take over the utility’s top position left vacant by Chu Wen-chen (朱文成), who announced his retirement plan earlier this month.
“The proposal still needs to be passed by Taipower’s board and I am scheduled to take the post on Monday next week at the earliest,” Yang said by telephone, adding that he would not retain his job at the ministry after the appointment.
Yang said his priority after taking over as Taipower chairman is to ensure stable power supply for the nation’s economic development and improve the state-run company’s communication with the public.
Citing an amendment to the Electricity Act (電業法), he said the company would continue pushing for the nation’s goal of energy transformation.
The 71-year-old company is facing a stern challenge amid calls for substantial reforms following a massive power outage in August.
The five-hour blackout and subsequent power rationing, which affected about 6 million households nationwide, was attributed to human error during the replacement of power supply system components at a natural gas power plant.
Former minister of economic affairs Lee Chih-kung (李世光) and former CPC chairman Derek Chen (陳金德) resigned amid mounting criticism over the incident.
Yang’s appointment to Taipower came as a surprise, as it was widely believed he would elected CPC chairman, as he has been serving as acting chairman since Chen stepped down from the post more than two months ago.
Yang yesterday did not comment on possible candidates for the CPC chairman post.
Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Polar Semiconductor LLC to collaborate on the production of 8-inch wafers in the US. The collaboration aims to strengthen 8-inch wafer manufacturing in the US amid Washington’s efforts to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, contribute to supply chain resilience against shifting geopolitical dynamics, and ensure a secure domestic supply of power semiconductors critical to automotive, electric grids, robotic manufacturing and data centers, the companies said in a joint statement. Under the MOU, Polar and UMC will identify devices for Polar to manufacture at
TARIFF TALKS: The US secretary of commerce is eyeing more than US$300 billion in investments and said Taiwan would train US workers, but Taipei has denied the latter US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said the US is expecting a large investment pledge from Taiwan in trade talks, while President William Lai (賴清德) listed areas that need improvement in order for projects to be completed. “We’re in the midst of discussions,” Lutnick said on Wednesday. “But the fact is, this administration’s goal is to bring semiconductor manufacturing to America.” Lai on Wednesday said Taiwan is supportive of US President Donald Trump’s goal of reindustrializing the US, including efforts to ramp up semiconductor production. Such a goal would require the US to reduce its reliance on Taiwan as a key source
The demise of the coal industry left the US’ Appalachian region in tatters, with lost jobs, spoiled water and countless kilometers of abandoned underground mines. Now entrepreneurs are eyeing the rural region with ambitious visions to rebuild its economy by converting old mines into solar power systems and data centers that could help fuel the increasing power demands of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. One such project is underway by a non-profit team calling itself Energy DELTA (Discovery, Education, Learning and Technology Accelerator) Lab, which is looking to develop energy sources on about 26,305 hectares of old coal land in
Netflix on Friday faced fierce criticism over its blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. The streaming giant is already viewed as a pariah in some Hollywood circles, largely due to its reluctance to release content in theaters and its disruption of traditional industry practices. As Netflix emerged as the likely winning bidder for Warner Bros — the studio behind Casablanca, the Harry Potter movies and Friends — Hollywood’s elite launched an aggressive campaign against the acquisition. Titanic director James Cameron called the buyout a “disaster,” while a group of prominent producers are lobbying US Congress to oppose the deal,
RSS