Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday gave no guarantee that the decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant could restart generating electricity as soon as 2028, saying that the required safety inspections by the nation's nuclear safety regulator could take 18 months to six years.
Kung made the comments during a legislative session when asked by an opposition lawmaker if the Pingtung County-based plant could resume operation as early as 2028 once it passes required safety checks, as reported by local media.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
The Ministry of Economic Affairs last week announced that the state-run Taiwan Power Co is expected to submit a plan for restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant and the Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City to the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) by March next year for review.
Safety inspections at the Ma-anshan plant would require peer review and assistance from the original manufacturer, a process expected to take about one and a half to two years to complete, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Based on the statement, several local media reported over the weekend that the plant could resume operation as early as late 2027 or in 2028.
Asked to comment on the predictions, Kung told lawmakers yesterday that it is true that in the best-case scenario, the decommissioned Ma-anshan plant could be restarted in 2028 "if everything goes smoothly" with the plant passing safety inspections in one-and-a-half years.
However, the inspections could take as long as five to six years, Kung said, citing similar checks on decommissioned plants in other countries.
Kung also said he did not know how long it would take for the NSC to conduct safety reviews.
"Our top priority is to make sure it is safe" for the power plant to restart, he added.
The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan plant, Taiwan's last operational nuclear reactor, was shut down on May 17.
The ministry's evaluation report was carried out in response to amendments to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) passed in May, which provide a legal basis for continuing to operate nuclear power plants even after they have entered the decommissioning stage.
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