POWER DOWN:The government is urging the public, businesses and public venues to save more power, as the electricity supply could flash red by Thursday or Friday
Taipei Times
Date: Aug 01, 2017
By: Ted Chen / Staff reporter
The government has ruled out reactivating suspended nuclear power plants to alleviate
Minister of Economic Affairs Lee Chih-kung, second left, at a news conference yesterday in Taipei asks the public to reduce electricity consumption to help relieve pressure on the grid following damage to electricity pylons caused by Tropical Storm Haitang. Photo: CNA
tightening electricity supplies due to storm damage, Minister of Economic Affairs Lee Chih-kung (李世光) said yesterday.
Typhoon Nesat and Tropical Storm Haitang brought down a Hualien County transmission tower, operated by the independent Ho-Ping Power Co (和平電力), which has reduced supply by 1.3 million kilowatts (kW), or about 4 percent of operating reserve, state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) said.
The nation’s power supply could flash a “red” warning — indicating that reserve capacity is less than 900,000kW — by Thursday or Friday because of the damage. Replacement capacity from other power plants is not expected in time, Taipower said.
Reactivating two suspended nuclear power plants takes considerable time and is not viable as an immediate solution, Lee said at a news conference in Taipei with Energy Bureau and Taipower officials. [FULL STORY]
