Fire at Taiwan's Third Largest Power Plant Raises Power Shortage Concerns for TSMC and Others

Alert Issued Following Fire
Triggered When Power Reserve Margin Falls Below 6%

Taiwanese media outlets, including United Daily News and China Times, reported on September 11, citing sources, that a fire at a power plant in southern Taiwan has raised concerns about a potential power shortage affecting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturer), and others.

Reuters Yonhap News

According to these sources, Taiwan Power Company (TPC) issued a "power system alert operation notice" following a fire caused by an explosion at the Xingda Power Plant in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, around 8 p.m. on September 9. This alert is issued when the reserve margin for power supply falls below 6%, indicating a potential emergency situation.

The sources stated that the alert related to this explosion was initially set to be in effect from 1 a.m. to 11 p.m. the previous day, but the duration of the alert has now been extended to ten days.

Another source explained that, in order to increase the power supply reserve margin, TPC has restarted Unit 5 of the Dalin Power Plant in Kaohsiung, which had been retired in 2022, and even mobilized diesel generators from the Second and Third Nuclear Power Plants, which had already ceased commercial operations. As a result, it was pointed out that there could be disruptions in the power supply to the Southern Taiwan Science Park, where TSMC and other major companies are located.

On September 10, TPC Chairman Cheng Wen-sheng announced that, according to the initial investigation, the fire occurred when liquefied natural gas (LNG) leaked during a test run of the new Unit 2 at the Xingda Power Plant, which uses LNG. He also added that a separate power supply plan has been prepared for the Southern Taiwan Science Park. The Xingda Power Plant has a total generation capacity of 4,325 MW, accounting for 10% of Taiwan's total power generation, making it the third largest power plant in Taiwan.

Taiwanese media also reported that major blackouts on May 13 and May 17, 2021, as well as on March 3, 2022, were all related to the Xingda Power Plant.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.