TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Amid criticism for continuing to purchase Russian coal, Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower, 台電) announced that it has made its final payment for coal that it had agreed to buy from the country prior to the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War in February and clarified that no more coal will be purchased from Russia.
On Tuesday (Aug. 23), Nikkei Asia reported that Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea had imported a total of US$5.5 billion in coal, oil, and gas from Russia from Feb. 24, the date Russian forces invaded Ukraine, to July 31. Of these imports, Taiwan accounted for US$1.2 billion, while Japan imported $2.6 billion and South Korea brought in US1.7 billion each, according to the Center for Research on Energy and Clear Air (CREA).
According to the center, the fossil fuel purchases of the three countries poured US$1 billion into Russia's coffers over that period. As Western democracies seek to support Ukraine by halting purchases of Russian fossil fuels, "countries in East Asia will essentially be left as the top buyers of Russian fossil fuels," pointed out Lauri Myllyvirta, lead researcher at CREA.
On Wednesday (Aug. 24), Taipower spokesperson Wu Chin-chung (吳進忠), was cited by Reuters as saying that prior to the war, his firm had signed a purchase agreement to obtain 1.16 million tons of coal from Russia for US$280 million for this year. However, Wu said that the final payment of US$150 million had been made in August.
Wu pledged that the state-run utility would not make any further purchases of coal from Russia. Instead, Wu said that Taipower plans to acquire coal from other countries such as Indonesia, Australia, Colombia, and South Africa.