A total of 25 executives at state-run utility Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) were punished for power outages and emergency shutdowns earlier this year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Friday.

The 25 Taipower executives, including Chairman Yang Wei-fu (???) and President Chung Bin-li (???), were given punishments ranging from warnings to major demerits for the incidents that took place on May 13, May 17 and July 27, Economic Affairs Minister Wang Mei-hua (???) said.

Attributing the three incidents to human error or bad execution, Wang said they not only affected people's day-to-day lives but also dealt a severe blow to public confidence in the national power supply.

That is why Yang and Chung were each given a major demerit for their lax management, she said.

Currently, the MOEA, which oversees Taipower, has established a task force to strengthen the country's power supply, especially during peak hours at night, and its mid- to long-term goal is to increase the share of green energy in the overall power generation mix, she said.

Wang said the May 13 incident that caused the shutdown of the Singda Power Plant in Kaohsiung came about after a worker with an outside contractor who was conducting tests related to the expansion of a ultra-high-voltage substation operated a switch incorrectly.

That resulted in a switchgear ground fault (where electrical current flows directly to the ground), causing the circuit break that led to the shutdown of the Singda plant and a reduction of power generated.

On May 17, Taipower implemented another rolling blackout nationwide because a sudden surge in electricity demand that night exceeded supply, amounting to what Wang described as "execution" problems.

The incident on July 27 at the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei occurred when cleaners in the facility's control room accidentally dislodged an acrylic cover of a steam isolation valve while moving chairs.

That led to an automatic shutdown of the plant's second reactor.

The string of incidents, especially the back-to-back outages in May, triggered widespread discontent, exacerbated by top government officials' public pledges prior to the mishaps that Taiwan had sufficient power amid questions about the viability of their energy policy.

The May 13 power outage caused NT$470 million (US$16.85 million) in damages to Taipower, and the company is ready to ask the contractor to pay half of the amount, as an investigation suggested it should shoulder half of the responsibility, Wang said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel