Everyone feels a bit frustrated when the days become so unbearably hot every summer.
Temperatures frequently reach 35?C, and as people venture outdoors, there are tall buildings and concrete at every turn, and no green areas or trees to provide shade and a chance to cool down.
Apparent temperatures often reach more than 40?C, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is scorching hot.
Summer also brings typhoons, which are not necessarily all bad, because at the very least, the abundant rainfall can drive away the heat and replenish drying reservoirs.
However, the torrential rains brought by typhoons have become a lingering nightmare.
The reservoirs are silted with mud and the large inflows of water within a short period of time do not provide timely relief from desperate droughts, but instead seem to cause problems that require immediate discharge.
The unfortunate residents and farmland downstream of the reservoirs are threatened by the onslaught of wind and rain as well as the discharge.
Urban residents are not much better off. When a typhoon strikes, there are often images of flooded areas and people navigating flooded streets in boats; if someone’s car or motorcycle is inundated by the flood, there is nothing they can do but heave sigh of regret.
On top of all these difficulties, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) often aggravates the situation.
A major maintenance project was completed in October last year at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春), but on Jan. 24, four reactors at the plant stopped working at the same time.
However, it seems that Taipower was unable to learn from this incident, and in the early morning of July 23, as air-conditioners were roaring in households everywhere, the power plant’s second reactor was interrupted due to a cooling system failure.
The question is to what extent alarming situations like this — with people consuming electricity at one end and Taipower’s power supply coming under strain at the other — will be repeated and what the consequences would be.
When will Taipower dare to promise the public that as long as there are power plants, there will be power supply?
However, even if there were no interruptions at power plants, that is no guarantee there would be no interruptions.
When a typhoon strikes, the strong winds can tear down power lines and topple transmission towers, depriving tens of thousands of households of electricity.
Is there any way to avoid this?
Typhoons strike Taiwan every year — it is only a question of how many there will be and how strong they are.
If the power lines are left above ground, typhoons would over and over, year after year bring down utility pylons and interrupt the power supply.
As Typhoon Nesat struck Taiwan on July 29, a transmission tower in Yilan 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, putting even more pressure on Taipower.
The problem is, this is not the first time a transmission tower was brought down by a typhoon.
On July 30, 1999, a high-voltage transmission tower in Tainan’s Zuojhen District (左鎮) collapsed when its base was washed away by rain, causing the largest power outage in half a century. Why does history repeat itself over and over again?
Although the Ho-Ping Power Plant is privately run, from a corporate perspective, it is like a satellite plant of Taipower.
As the outsourcing company, Taipower has the right and obligation to require that Ho-Ping Power Plant maintain a stable power supply, which includes the maintenance of transmission towers.
If it does not, Ho-Ping Power could take advantage of Taipower and use it as a cash machine by failing to supply power when there is a deficit and supplying huge volumes when there is a surplus.
If we do not build underground power lines this year, we are likely to regret it next year. Does Taipower understand this kind of logic?
Taipower’s and its clients’ transmission towers should be maintained regularly, not delayed until they collapse. Does Taipower understand the logic of preparation?
If the power supply is interrupted, all of these plants and all of this equipment are useless decorations. Does Taipower understand this and the necessary of learning from experience?
We can only hope that Taipower will make the extra effort.
Chang Kuo-tsai is a retired associate professor at National Hsinchu University of Education and a former deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Association of University Professors.
Translated by Lin Lee-Kai
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