Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday said that it would appeal the Taichung City Government’s decision to revoke the operating licenses for two of its coal-fired generators at Taichung Power Plant.
“It is clear to us that the Taichung City Government has gone against the law in revoking our licenses. Therefore, we will appeal its decision as soon as possible,” Taipower chairman Yang Wei-fuu (楊偉甫) told a news conference in Taipei.
The city government yesterday said that it had no choice but to cancel the two licenses, as Taipower has burned more than the limit of 11.04 million tonnes of coal per year permitted by the city’s Autonomous Act for Coal Regulation (台中市管制生煤自治條例).
Photo: Lin Ching-hua, Taipei Times
However, the state-run utility was previously allowed to use up to 16 million tonnes of coal this year, according to an official document sent by the city government, company spokesman Hsu Tsao-hua (徐造華) said.
So far this year, the company has used 12.55 million tonnes, Hsu said.
Hsu accused the city government of changing its regulations so quickly that Taipower could not adapt.
While the city government originally asked the company to reduce its coal consumption from its peak consumption of 18.39 million tonnes in 2014 by 40 percent to 11.04 million tonnes from Jan. 26 next year, the city last month suddenly revised its demands, saying that the company should meet the limit of 11.04 million tonnes before Jan. 26, Hsu said.
The city government claimed to have miswritten its demands, which is unacceptable, he said.
Despite considering the city government’s measures as running against legal procedures, Taipower said that it would abide by the decision after receiving official notice, adding that it would take the No. 2 and No. 3 units offline by Wednesday next week.
However, that is not to say that Taipower will not seek to countermand the decision while pursuing recompense, Yang told a news conference in Taipei.
Shutting down the two units would lead to a decline of 1.5 to 1.8 percent in Taipower’s power reserve margin to less than 10 percent in the summer, when electricity consumption nationwide peaks.
“While there are no imminent concerns over a lack in energy supply, we now find ourselves on a short leash if there is ever an emergency,” Hsu said.
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