4th nuclear power plant to be mothballed in July

Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) A plan to put the country's 4th nuclear power plant into storage has been approved by the Atomic Energy Council, meaning that the plant will be mothballed July 1 for three years, the Taiwan Power Company (Tapower) said Tuesday.

During that period, 32 of the plant's 126 systems will be mothballed, 80 will operate normally and 14 will operate only periodically, said Taipower spokesman Lin Teh-fu (林德福).

Among the 80 systems to operate around the clock will be the air conditioning system, while the diesel power system and 13 other systems will operate periodically. The remaining 32 systems that will not be used for long time will be filled with nitrogen gas to keep them under pressure and prevent rusting.

Preparation for the mothballing will be completed before the end of June, with the number of staff at the plant cut to about 600.

In addition to NT$2.7 billion (US$85.19 million) Taipower must pay this year in compensation to contractors for stopping construction of the plant, the cost for each of the three years of mothballing will amount to NT$1.2 billion, NT$1.09 billion and NT$1.09 billion, respectively. All of the costs will have to be covered by Taipower from its budget.

If the plant is taken out of mothballing after the three years are up, Taipower will have to come up with plan to that end one year in advance, according to the Atomic Energy Council.

The company came up with the plan to stop construction of the plant and shelve it Sept. 2, 2014, and an ad hoc team under the Atomic Energy Commission approved it Jan. 29.

(By Milly Lin and Maubo Chang)ENDITEM/J