TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) President Wang Yao-ting said Monday (April 22) that the recent power outages in Taoyuan were caused by end-line failures, not energy policy issues.
The statement comes after a major earthquake in Hualien struck on April 3, which led to a tight power supply on April 15. Coupled with the ongoing power outages in Taoyuan, this sparked discussions about energy policy.
Wang explained that Taiwan's power system includes more than 10,000 feeder lines, 3 million utility poles, and 1.5 million transformers. The power is delivered to households "over mountains and across ridges" from the generation end. The recent power outages in Taoyuan were caused by end-line failures but were misrepresented as power shortages or energy policy errors.
Wang also pointed out that in March of this year, the Tokyo Electric Power Company experienced 577 power outages, while Taipower had 477. Wang said that frontline repair staff at Taipower, who are working on repairs, have been subjected to verbal abuse.
Wang said that the number of power outages at Taipower has decreased by 70% over the past decade. He also refuted the view that increasing nuclear power units could enhance resilience. Wang believes that Taiwan has been developing green energy for over a decade, and that global net zero is the inevitable path.
