Wed, Mar 28, 2001 page3

• Campaigner looking to make his mark on Taipower

  GETTING INVOLVED Veteran anti-nuclear activist Wang To-far is hoping to be appointed to the board of the state-run utility, which he sees as a good way of scrutinizing management oversight and policies

  • By Chiu Yu-Tzu / STAFF REPORTER
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  For Wang To-far (王塗發), an economics professor at National Taipei University (台北大學) and a veteran anti-nuclear activist, the best part of his joining the board of directors of the Taiwan Power Company (Taipower, 台電) would be that he could collect information from the state-run electricity utility with ease.

  Wang is reportedly one of candidates for a seat on the board. The results of the board reshuffle are expected to be made public by the Ministry of Economic Affairs soon.

  

  TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO

  "If -- and I mean if -- I am made a board member, I will suggest reviewing existing management measures pertaining to energy efficiencies and costs," Wang said.

  As a member of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU, 台灣環保聯盟), Wang has been questioning Taipower's management for years.

  For example, Wang said, Taipower's claims that the industry would encounter power shortages if the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四廠) were scrapped are not true.

  Wang explained that if the project were canceled, there would still be a 15 percent reserve power supply available in 2006, the year Taipower plans to put the new nuclear power plant into operation.

  "The issue needs to be reviewed and discussed comprehensively," Wang said.

  But Wang said that power shortages could come from Taipower's mismanagement of the nation's electricity transmission and distribution system.

  Both environmentalists and foreign experts have criticized Taipower's power grid as fragile, saying that the long-distance transmission of electricity was inefficient and maintenance-intensive.

  Activists say that an excellent example of this was the nationwide blackout that occurred on July 29, 1999, which resulted from the collapse of a high voltage tower in central Taiwan.

  A more recent case was the malfunction of transmission lines at the Third Nuclear Power Plant (核三) in Pingtung County which affected the operation of two electrical generators, causing a short circuit and a fire that was rated by the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) as the worst accident at a nuclear plant in Taiwan's history.

  Wang said that the management of the nation's nuclear plants was also an important issue for Taipower to deal with.

  "The recent fire at the Third Nuclear Power Plant should provide Taipower with more than a hint that it needs to review the way it runs the country's nuclear power plants," Wang said.

  Human factors, Wang said,

  cannot be excluded entirely even with the adoption of advanced nuclear technologies.

  Due to accidents at other nuclear plants, Taipower has been considering improving the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant's ability to resist earthquakes.

  "The improvement will definitely affect the total cost of the plant. It means that Taipower should re-consider the project," Wang said.

  The controversy over the plant over the last two decades has been marked by Taipower's persistent reluctance to release information to the public.

  Wang, a long-time supporter of the DPP, was a member of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant Re-evaluation Committee (核四再評估委員會), which was convened by the economic affairs ministry last year.

  Wang questioned Taipower several times in his position as a member of the body about what he said was "unreliable" information being released by the company.

  "I strongly believe that Taipower has to adopt new ideas in the energy sector, which have already been widely accepted by developed countries, if the company wants to be competitive in the future," Wang said.

  For example, Wang said, the trend of electricity liberalization was inevitable.

  Wang said, however, he was not sure what kind of function Taipower's board has and what kind of influence he could exert at board meetings, were he to become a member.

  Wang predicted that he would face challenges from pro-nuclear energy members, but that he would approach such topics on an economic basis. "If building the plant is not economic, I'll suggest Taipower seriously consider alternatives," Wang said.

  Wang said that the position could not be seen as a kickback from the DPP-led government, as the only money board members receive is reimbursement for travel, and that the job is only a part-time position anyway.
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