Taipei, The Cabinet said Friday the Taiwan public and businesses need not worry about electricity supply in the country since there is no power shortage at the moment nor is such a problem likely to arise in the foreseeable future.
The power operating reserves have been maintained above 6 percent and will be increased to 10 percent next year as the industrial sector has suggested, Cabinet spokesperson Kolas Yotaka told the media, dismissing reports of widespread misgivings over the stability of Taiwan’s power supply.
“As far as the government understands, the semiconductor industry will continue to invest in Taiwan because the problem of power shortage does not exist now and will not occur in the future,” Kolas said. “I hope Taiwan’s people and industry are not worrying about that.”
She said there was no chance that the government would reconsider its goal of phasing out nuclear power.
“We remain committed to a nuclear-free homeland by 2025,” Kolas added, in the wake of an Apple Daily report that said several leaders in Taiwan’s semiconductor industry are gravely concerned that an insufficient power supply will hinder the industry’s long-term development.
The paper cited industry leaders as saying that the operating reserves in Taiwan stood at only 6 percent, way below the industrial requirement of 15 percent.
“I’m afraid that the problem of electricity shortage in Taiwan has affected the development of the semiconductor industry,” Frank Huang (???), founder of Powerchip Technology Corporation, was quoted as saying.
“I was planning to invest NT$300 billion (US$9.8 billion) to set up a plant in Miaoli County, but have been hesitant to do so due to the (power supply) problem,” he said.
Doris Hsu (???), representative chairperson and CEO of Globalwafers Co., Ltd, said in the report that “an adequate and stable power supply is critical to the industry, as power cuts will cost us dearly.”
Meanwhile, Far Eastern Group Chairman Douglas Hsu (???) suggested that the government maintain the use of nuclear power to avoid a crisis of electricity shortage.
“No company will want to make new investments in Taiwan if the power shortage problem is not fully resolved,” he said in the report.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel