AsiaElec: Taiwan blackouts loom as another NPP goes offline

Taiwan took a significant step closer to going fully non-nuclear last week when Unit 2 of the nation’s Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant in the north of the country, not far from Taipei, was reported as having been safely shut down.

Decommissioning will follow as the ruling government of outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen rushes to implement promises made eight years ago to make the island country wholly non-nuclear.

Kuosheng was officially taken offline after its existing operating licence had passed the 40-year mark, but with even the state-owned utility Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) now saying "some people are worried that Taiwan will lack electricity in the future," the move is seen as highly polarising.

Regardless of public opinion, Taiwan’s government is standing by its ‘nuclear-free homeland by 2025’ promise made ahead of the 2016, elections which brought it to power.

If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping the Asian power sector then please click here for NewsBase's AsiaElec Monitor.