Taiwan’s fuel shipments are still mainly routed through the Red Sea, despite Iran’s threats to cut off access to the Red Sea in response to the US’ blocking of Iranian ports, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday.
Iran’s threats have yet to materialize and their feasibility remains uncertain, requiring close monitoring, Kung said ahead of a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei.
International crude oil prices have eased to about US$100 per barrel, and the ministry welcomes positive developments in the Middle East, but would continue to prepare for worst-case scenarios, he said.
Photo: CNA
At the meeting, Kung faced questions by lawmakers about resuming operations at two coal-fired generators at the Mailiao Power Plant in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮) for three months, and whether other idled coal-fired units would be restarted should the war in the Middle East war be prolonged.
The two coal-fired generators in Mailiao would resume operations late next month to boost the nation’s energy resilience, Kung said.
At the same time, the government would reduce output from the Taichung Power Plant, with total coal use this year not exceeding last year’s level, he said.
Boosting output from the Mailiao plant is to enhance flexibility in case of disruptions to natural gas supply, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) president Wang Yao-ting (王耀庭) said at the meeting, adding that other countries such as Germany and Japan have also increased coal use amid the Middle East tensions.
As the situation remains fluid, Taipower’s top priority is to ensure a stable power supply, and it would deploy “all available energy sources as needed” in line with global practices, Wang said.
Natural gas and renewable energy are still Taiwan’s main energy sources, Kung said.
The temporary use of the two coal-fired units at Mailiao Power Plant would not affect the timeline of its conversion to gas-fired, as new facilities are being built at separate sites and would be closely monitored, he said.
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