A fire at Kaohsiung’s Hsinta Power Plant (興達電廠) two days ago, suspected to have been caused by a leak of natural gas from its new Unit 2, would not trigger rolling blackouts, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday.
Backup units and emergency reserves would ensure stable electricity, Kung told a news conference after a Cabinet meeting in Taipei.
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) has added new generating units and converted older units into emergency standby units in the past few years, allowing it to maintain a nighttime peak reserve margin of at least 6 percent, he said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Solar power during the day can boost reserves to 15 to 17 percent, although margins dip slightly after sunset, he said.
Under normal conditions, reserves are 6 to 7 percent to facilitate stable supply in emergencies, he added.
Standby units were activated after the fire to compensate for the slight dip in reserves and normal supply was unaffected, Kung said.
Officials hope to complete an inspection of Unit 1 at the Hsinta plant within a week, as it appears to have been largely unaffected by the blaze, he said.
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