Taipower to submit restart plan for 2 nuclear power plants in March 2026

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) is expected to submit a plan for restarting two of Taiwan's decommissioned nuclear power plants to the Nuclear Safety Commission by March 2026, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Friday.

In a statement, the MOEA said it has approved Taipower's evaluation report that found it feasible to restart the Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei and the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County (known as Taiwan's second and third nuclear power plants, respectively).

However, the report concluded that restarting the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant -- Taiwan's first nuclear plant, also located in New Taipei -- was not feasible because its two reactors were decommissioned more than eight years ago and its equipment has severely aged, the ministry said.

Following the evaluation, the MOEA said Taipower will draft restart plans for the two nuclear power plants to be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission in March 2026.

It will also launch safety inspections, including assessments of how badly the plants' equipment has aged and its seismic resilience.

Inspections at the Maanshan plant will require peer review and assistance from the original manufacturer, a process expected to take about one and a half to two years to complete, the ministry said.

The process will take longer at the Kuosheng plant, however, because its used nuclear fuel must be removed from the reactor and stored outdoors before related safety inspections can be carried out, the MOEA said.

The evaluation report was carried out in response to amendments to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act passed in May, which provide a legal basis for continuing to operate nuclear power plants even after they have entered the decommissioning stage.

The No. 2 reactor at the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant, Taiwan's last operational nuclear reactor, was shut down on May 17 this year.

Taiwan's three once-operational nuclear power plants, that generated about 15 percent of the country's electricity as recently as 2014, have all been decommissioned.

Nuclear power advocates have argued that they should be restarted and that the fourth nuclear power plant, which was close to completion before being mothballed in 2014, be reopened and used to give Taiwan a baseload source of low-emission electricity.

In the first nine months of 2025, around 85 percent of Taiwan's electricity mix was generated by fossil fuels, according to the Energy Administration.