No risk of rolling blackouts after Hsinta Power Plant fire: Minister

Taipei, Sept. 11 (CNA) 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 (龔明鑫) said Thursday.

This is because backup units and emergency reserves ensure stable electricity even during incidents, according to Kung.

Kung noted that Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) has added new generating units and converted older units into emergency standby units in recent years, allowing it to maintain a nighttime peak reserve margin of at least 6 percent.

● Fire at Kaohsiung plant will not affect power supply: Minister

Solar power during the day can boost reserves to 15-17 percent, though margins may dip slightly after sunset. Normal conditions keep reserves at 6-7 percent to handle emergencies, he added.

Regarding the fire, Kung said standby units were activated to compensate for the slight dip in reserves and normal power supply remained unaffected.

He further said that Taipower has gradually retired older units and converted them into emergency backup units, reinforcing confidence in maintaining a 6 percent nighttime peak reserve margin.

Regarding the cause of the fire, Kung said officials hope to complete the inspection of Unit 1 within a week, as it appears largely unaffected. Unit 2, which was impacted by the fire, will be examined jointly with equipment suppliers.