In response to public concerns over the operating permits for the Taichung Power Plant's generating units, Taipower held a press conference today  (June 3) to clarify the situation. The Company stressed that the plant is operating in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations. Five power generating units have legally applied for permit extensions. However, the Taichung City Government has failed to process the applications for nine months, far exceeding the statutory review period, yet continues to accuse the plant of "operating without a permit," despite itself being in breach of the law. Regarding the Legislative Yuan's resolution for a "coal-free Taichung Power Plant by 2028," Taipower reiterated that achieving coal-free power generation at Taichung is indeed its goal, but maintaining  a stable power supply must remain the top priority. The plant's current power generation already falls short of Taichung's electricity demand. "We cannot achieve zero coal at the cost of zero power," Taipower stated.
Taipower explained that five power generating units at the Taichung Power Plant currently have valid permits through the end of 2026, while the remaining five units have applied for permit extensions. Under Article 31 of the Stationary Pollution Source Installation, Operating and Fuel Use Permit Management Regulations Amended Clauses, local governments must complete a formal review within seven days of receiving an application, notify the applicant within another seven days to pay the review fee, and complete a substantive review within 35 days of payment, with a one-time extension of up to 30 days if necessary.
Taipower further clarified that the permits for Units 6, 7, and 10 expired on December 31 last year. In accordance with the law, Taipower applied for extensions on September 4. The Taichung City Government issued a payment notice on September 23, Taipower paid on September 27, and the Environmental Protection Bureau conducted the on-site inspection on October 22. However, the review has since stalled for nine months. For Units 2 and 3, the city government illegally revoked the permits in 2020, a decision the Environmental Protection Administration  (EPA) overturned. The EPA instructed the review process to resume from where it left off, but the city government has yet to complete it, a delay now exceeding five years, which is a clear violation of the regulations.
Taipower also noted that under Article 30, Paragraph 3 of the Air Pollution Control Act, if a permit extension application is pending due to incomplete review by, the unit may legally continue operating under the original permit terms after the permit expires. Taipower is therefore operating lawfully while working hard to ensure stable power supply., and the city government's "unlicensed operation" accusation is misleading. Taichung City's electricity consumption has surpassed the output of the Taichung Power Plant since 2019 and was the highest among Taiwan's six special municipalities in 2024. This leaves a power shortfall of several billion kilowatt-hours that must be met by other counties and cities.
On the Legislative Yuan's 2028 coal-free resolution, Taipower emphasized that eliminating coal from Taichung's generation must not come at the expense of supply security. Phasing out about 5 GW of power generation capacity early could not be offset by simply restarting Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant along, as proposed in the referendum. It would require restarting all six power generating units at the Chinshan, Kuosheng, and Maanshan Nuclear Power Plants in New Taipei City and Pingtung County. Any restart of nuclear power plants would still need to resolve critical issues such as nuclear safety and spent fuel disposal. Taipower is pressing ahead with its plan to replace coal at Taichung with new gas-fired units. The New Unit 1 is scheduled to come online by year-end, two coal-fired units will be decommissioned next year, and the plant is on track to reach coal-free operation by 2034.
Taipower reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring stable power supply while gradually reducing coal consumption, making Taichung Power Plant the largest single contributor to local stationary-source pollution reduction in Taichung City. In 2024, the plant's coal consumption hit a historic low, down more than 6 million metric tons compared with its 2014 peak under the KMT administration. Over the past eight years, air pollutant emissions have fallen by nearly 80%. According to Taiwan Emission Data System  (TEDS) statistics, without Taipower's reductions, Taichung City's total air pollutant emissions would have risen rather than fallen.
Regarding coal-fired Units 3 and 4 at Hsinta Power Plant, Taipower reiterated that both are active  but are scheduled for decommissioning by the end of this year and next year, respectively. As part of its new unit replacement plan, Taipower proactively committed during the environmental impact assessment  (EIA) process to limit their use in the run-up to decommissioning. Since 2024, the units have not operated during the first and fourth quarters and have been designated as backup units since this year, to be dispatched only when the percent operating reserve margin falls below 8%. Currently, Taipower is also complying with Kaohsiung City Government's tighter restrictions, limiting each unit's use to no more than 720 operating hours per year. Activation  is fully supervised by the city government and environmental authorities. In response to a formal notice, neither unit has been activated since May 23.

Spokesperson: Vice President, Chih-Meng Tsai
Tel:  (02 )2366-6271/0958-749-333
Email: u910707@taipower.com.tw

Contact Person: Director of Power Generation Department, Yu-Hua Sun
Tel:  (02 )2366-6500/0928-158-862
Email: u217063@taipower.com.tw

Contact Person: Director of Environmental Protection Department, Cheng-Hung Wu
Tel:  (02 )2366-7200/0927-291-156
Email: u015279@taipower.com.tw