Kaohsiung: A fire at Kaohsiung’s Hsinta Power Plant two days ago, suspected to have been caused by a natural gas leak from its new Unit 2, will not trigger rolling blackouts, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin said Thursday. This assurance comes as backup units and emergency reserves are in place to ensure stable electricity supply even during such incidents.
According to Focus Taiwan, Minister Kung emphasized that Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) has implemented strategic upgrades by adding new generating units and converting older units into emergency standby roles in recent years. This has enabled the power company to maintain a nighttime peak reserve margin of at least 6 percent, ensuring a robust response to emergencies.
Kung highlighted that solar power during the day can significantly boost reserves to 15-17 percent; however, he acknowledged that these margins might slightly dip after sunset. Nevertheless, under normal conditions, reserves are maintained at 6-7 percent, which is adequate to handle emergencies.
In addressing the recent fire, Kung confirmed that standby units were activated to offset the slight reduction in reserves, thereby ensuring that the normal power supply remained uninterrupted. He further reassured that Taipower’s strategy of retiring older units and converting them into emergency backups reinforces confidence in maintaining the critical 6 percent nighttime peak reserve margin.
Regarding the investigation into the fire’s cause, Kung stated that officials aim to complete an inspection of Unit 1 within a week, as it appears to be largely unaffected. Meanwhile, the examination of Unit 2, which was directly impacted by the fire, will be conducted jointly with equipment suppliers to determine the precise cause.
