TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipower Chair Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said Wednesday that a fire at the Hsinta Thermal Power Plant in Kaohsiung’s Yong-An District may have been caused by a gas leak.
According to Taipower, the fire broke out on Tuesday during a trial run of a newly installed gas turbine, per CNA. The company emphasized that the incident had no impact on the plant’s existing generators and does not affect Taiwan’s overall power supply.
Tseng said a gas leak was detected at 7:57 p.m., and a fire ignited at 8:05 p.m., per CNA. The Kaohsiung City Fire Department extinguished the fire by approximately 8:24 p.m.
Tseng added that the leak likely occurred in the gas pipelines leading to the generator, rather than inside the generator itself, though further investigation is required to determine the exact cause.
The fire department confirmed the fire occurred along internal pipelines but did not spread to nearby storage facilities, per ETtoday. Fire officials noted that plant personnel quickly shut off the natural gas lines, which allowed firefighters to quickly bring the fire under control.
Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Charles Lin (林欽榮), who visited the site, confirmed that no personnel were injured in the incident, per UDN. He also said the city’s environmental protection unit conducted a thorough investigation and found no signs of air pollution at the scene.
However, six village chiefs from Yong-An District voiced frustration during their visit to the plant on Tuesday, per CNA. They criticized Taipower for allowing press access while failing to inform local leaders.
Borough Chief He Ying-cheng (何應成) urged Taipower to suspend further tests until the cause of the fire is fully determined. He also called on the Kaohsiung City Government to "stand its ground" and safeguard the interests of residents.
Borough Chief Chiang Fu-shan (蔣福山) said Taipower did not notify the community ahead of a previous trial run. He recalled that residents reported a strange odor during the test, but were told by Taipower that the smell was likely from a fresh coat of paint.
Borough Chief Chen Wen-yin (陳文印) stressed that the government must not sacrifice local interests in pursuit of its broader energy policy.
