EDITORIAL: Stabilizing power by dispersing risk
A nationwide blackout on Thursday last week the first major power incident since a blackout on Aug. 15, 2017 sparked public dissatisfaction as people were trapped in elevators, offices went dark and factories were forced to suspend operations after a malfunction at an ultra-high-voltage substation in Kaohsiung triggered four generators at the Singda Power Plant (興達電廠) to go offline shortly before 3pm.
On that day, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) apologized to the nation for the rolling power outages that ensued, and the following day, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower), which said that human error was to blame, proposed a plan to compensate affected households and businesses.
COVID-19: Taipei, New Taipei raise alert after spike in cases
ENFORCING CAUTION: Certain entertainment facilities are to close nationwide to prevent people traveling there from high-risk areas in the north, the center said
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday raised the COVID-19 alert for Taipei and New Taipei City to level 3 in light of surging cases in the two cities.
The enhanced disease prevention measures for level 3 are to be implemented until May 28, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, told a morning news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei.
Taipower says blackouts were due to human error
By Angelica Oung / Staff reporter
Human error was to blame for blackouts across Taiwan on Thursday, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) told a news conference yesterday, promising to compensate affected households and businesses.
Taipower vice president Wang Yao-ting (王耀庭) said that the households would be granted a 5 percent discount on their electricity bills for this month and next month, while 6,300 affected high-voltage business users would get a 5 percent discount for this month.
The compensations are expected to cost Taipower about NT$470 million (US$16.78 million), Wang said.
From left, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) chairman Yang Wei-fu, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua and Taipower president Chung Bin-li attend a news conference in Taipei yesterday.