TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipower on Monday defended its energy policy after Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) and environmental advocates raised concerns over increased thermal power generation following the shutdown of Taiwan’s last operating nuclear reactor on Saturday.
Lu said that in the days following the reactor’s decommissioning, the Taichung Thermal Power Plant appeared to be operating near full capacity, per UDN. She noted that nine out of ten coal-fired generators at the plant were running at 90% capacity, warning the facility may be required to run at full load during the peak summer season.
Separately, Climate Pioneers League founder and Taipower employee Yang Chia-fa (楊家法) alleged that the thermal power plant in Penghu had increased its load to meet Taiwan’s broader power demand, per CNA.
Taipower disputed both claims. In response to Yang, the utility said that Penghu’s power increase was due to a local surge in demand. It noted that nighttime electricity consumption on Saturday broke a monthly record, prompting increased output to meet the island’s own needs.
In addressing Lu’s remarks, Taipower accused the mayor of misinterpreting the data by comparing Friday daytime output with Sunday nighttime levels. The company emphasized that higher nighttime output is expected due to the unavailability of solar power after sunset.
Taipower also referenced a comparison of the Taichung plant’s load before and after the July 2024 shutdown of Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant’s Reactor No. 1, stating that output had decreased since then. Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau Director Cheng Hung-yi (陳宏益) responded Tuesday, defending the city’s interpretation of the figures, which he said came from Taipower’s live update system, per Liberty Times.
Cheng questioned Taipower’s claim that solar energy was significantly easing the burden on Taichung, noting that nine generators were operating at 80% to 90% capacity on Monday. He also asked why Taipower had not requested that the Chiahui natural gas plant increase output, instead of relying heavily on the Taichung coal-fired facility.
Taipower reiterated that thermal power generation is not synonymous with "dirty" energy, pointing to a 70% reduction in air pollutants from thermal power generation between 2016 and 2024. The utility argued that the continued decline in emissions, even amid the gradual phaseout of nuclear energy, shows that a clean energy future does not rely solely on nuclear power.
The company concluded by emphasizing the importance of energy diversification to ensure grid stability and urged the public not to stigmatize thermal power while overlooking the unresolved challenge of nuclear waste disposal.
