State-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) today defended the temporary use of two coal-fired generators at the Hsinta Power Plant in Kaohsiung, saying the move complies with conditions set in 2019 and is fully transparent.
Taipower chairman Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said the No. 3 and No. 4 generators are activated only when the spinning reserve rate drops below 8 percent, a measure allowed for a six-month period starting in April.
Photo: Lin Ching-hua, Taipei Times
The units, scheduled for decommissioning in December and next year, are expected to run only through the end of this month.
Tseng said that the deployment was not done in secret, pointing to real-time data available on Taipower's Web site.
Taipower vice president Tsai Chih-meng (蔡志孟) added that the units are capped at 720 operational hours per year.
Their recent use was triggered by an accident at the privately run Hoping Power Plant in Hualien and ongoing maintenance at other facilities.
Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭?明) confirmed that the deployment aligns with environmental commitments made in 2019.
He also said that most air pollution in Taiwan comes from vehicles, not stationary sources like power plants.
The officials made the comments in response to criticism that the activation was made due to power shortage issues.
Still, Kaohsiung's Environmental Protection Bureau said it has asked Taipower to report on the generators' use and is monitoring any impact on local air quality.
Hsinta currently operates five gas-fired generators.
Construction of three additional gas units is 87 percent complete, slightly behind schedule.
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