The liberalization of the energy industry is a likely solution to the nation’s current disputes over nuclear energy, the root cause of which lies in the sector’s monopolization by state-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower), academics said yesterday.
The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is insisting on raising electricity prices and ensuring the commercial operation of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮) “to make up for Taipower’s losses,” National Taipei University economics professor Wang To-far (王塗發) told a seminar.
The seminar, organized by Taiwan Association of University Professors and Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, was held to discuss the liberalization of the energy industry and the use of nuclear energy following the recent release of several white papers by the Executive Yuan.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Free competition and the separation of electricity producers, distributors and sellers would “naturally rationalize the price of electricity,” Wang said.
Taipower could continue operating the nation’s nuclear power plants and hydropower stations could remain state-owned, but the rest of the market should be opened to private businesses, he said.
Citing the privatization of the nation’s telecommunications market as an example, National Chung Hsin University professor Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) endorsed Wang’s proposal, saying that the liberalization of the telecom market contributed to lower prices and an improvement in the protection of consumer rights.
If Taipower was in charge of electricity distribution and power plants were privatized and alternative energy promoted, the market would benefit consumers and energy efficiency would be improved, Chen said.
With regard to the debate about nuclear energy, academics said the government is misleading the public by claiming that power shortages would occur if the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant does not go into operation.
The potential risk of electricity shortages is a “flat-out lie,” Taiwan Thinktank president Wu Rong-i (吳榮義) said, adding that the nation has a reserve energy capacity of more than 10 percent “even if nuclear power was abandoned altogether.”
National Taiwan University atmospheric sciences professor Gloria Hsu(徐光蓉) said past incidents and investigations have shown that nuclear energy is “neither safe, cost-effective nor sustainable.”
“Over the long term, the development of alternative and “green” energy sources is still the best option and the cheapest,” said Chen Yen-hao (陳彥豪), an assistant researcher at Taiwan Institute of Economic Research.
Developing alternative energy sources serves two goals: the ultimate replacement of fossil fuels and the curbing of carbon emissions, he said.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated
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