Opposition parties yesterday called for the resignations of Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) and Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) chairman Yang Wei-fuu (楊偉甫) to take responsibility for the latest power outages, while the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) demanded an explanation from the state-owned utility.
Widespread power outages were reported across the nation, which Taipower attributed to an equipment malfunction at the Hsinta Power Plant in Kaohsiung.
Wang should step down to assume responsibility, and Taipower should compensate the public and busineses, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus told a news conference, adding that the power failure had tarnished Taiwan’s global image.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
KMT caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗) said that a widespread power outage in August 2017 led to the resignation of then-minister of economic affairs Lee Chih-kung (李世光).
However, when the nation experienced two similar large-scale outages last year, Yang was merely punished, while Wang went unscathed, he added.
There had been temporary outages over the past few days, but Taipower failed to heed the warning and prevent a wide-scale power failure yesterday, KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said, questioning a claim by Wang that Taipower has an operating reserve of 10 percent and calling for a review of energy policies.
A power outage in March — when the weather was not yet as hot as in the summer and electricity demand peaks — suggests that there might be management issues at Taipower, KMT Legislator Lee De-wei (李德維) said.
Taipower should “get to the core of the problem, and let the public know the cause of the blackout and its proposed solutions,” Lee added.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) urged the DPP government to face the reality that the country has a serious power shortage problem, despite repeatedly denying it.
An unstable power supply jeopardizes business operations and inconveniences the public, he said.
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如) said that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) promised at a meeting with industrial and commercial groups on Tuesday that power supply would be stable.
It was just a slogan to lure votes in the upcoming elections, Tsai told a news conference.
“Taipower would rather donate NT$80 million [US$2.9 million] to Shoushan Zoo in Kaohsiung than fix the electricity supply problem as soon as possible,” she added.
TPP Legislator Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) said that Taipower should investigate the incident and reveal the truth, instead of blaming low-level employees, annual maintenance or equipment failure whenever a blackout occurred.
The DPP urged the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Taipower to solve the problem immediately and “do everything they can to provide adequate services free of human errors or uncertainties.”
The DPP caucus demands a clear and comprehensive report on the incident, especially from Taipower, to clarify whether the cause of the outage was related to the power grid or power generation, DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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