Taipower investigated for corruption

Investigations have been launched into the Taiwan Power Co. by the Agency Against Corruption.

The agency dispatched 40 officials to five locations, including the Taipower Building, construction sites, and the offices of two subcontractors.

Questioned were five people including Nuclear Engineering Department Deputy Director Lin Chun-lung as part of a corruption probe concerning the Forth Nuclear Power Plant.

The action was part of an investigation into the firm's 2007 procurement of wires and equipment totaling NT$450 million or US$15 million. Officials are reviewing whether the price was above market value, why subcontractors were able to sell the equipment without radiation protection, and why Taipower didn't conduct regular examinations on the wires and equipment after the procurement was completed.

Lin was responsible the quality of purchases and should have held arbitration meetings if subcontractors provided problematic materials or parts, but he instead allegedly received bribes from contractors to give them passes on equipment examinations.

Taipower's new Chairman Huang Jung-chiou said that as he just recently accepted the position, he was not aware of the details of the procurement scandal, and that he would leave it to the judicial department to investigate.

Huang stated thathe will focus on reviewing power repurchasing contracts with independent power plants and combined heat and power plants.

Taipower previously signed 25-year contracts with IPPs, but the situation has changed, Huang said. Since the company is suffering great losses, the company will talk to IPPs to revise these contracts.

As for contracts with CHP plants, the chairman said he will try to set new prices for electricity repurchasing. Currently, CHP plants consume energy during off-peak hours and sell electricity to Taipower during peak hours, profiting from the price difference between the two.

For more, click here.