Date: 2014-04-28 Data Source: Office of Information Services, Executive Yuan
At an international press conference today, Premier Jiang Yi-huah explained the Executive Yuan’s position on the Longmen Nuclear Power Plant (LNPP), which would be the nation’s fourth. The major points are as follows:
• Work will not be continued on the plant’s No. 1 reactor. Instead, it will be put into protective storage after safety checks have concluded. All construction work on the No. 2 reactor will be halted. No fuel rods will be installed in either reactor.
• Whether the plant will become operational in the future will be decided through a national referendum.
• A national energy conference will be convened as soon as possible to ensure the nation has a steady supply of electricity in the future.
“Vice Premier Mao Chi-kuo and I attended the Kuomintang (KMT) legislative caucus conference held April 24 and a meeting for KMT mayors and magistrates held yesterday, and we both support the resolutions reached during the meetings,” said the premier.
During the April 24 conference, the KMT reached a decision that no fuel rods would be installed even after the plant was completed and passed safety inspections. At yesterday’s meeting convened by President Ma Ying-jeou and attended by mayors and magistrates affiliated with the party, consensus was reached to immediately suspend work on the LNPP and call a national energy conference.
Jiang said the government has made these decisions in order to keep energy options open for the next generation. Presently, many people who take an anti-nuclear-energy stance do not believe the LNPP is safe and are demanding the immediate abrogation of the facility. However, studies received by government agencies show that scrapping the LNPP and terminating operations of the nation’s first three nuclear plants would have severe ramifications for Taiwan’s energy supply.
If the LNPP does not go into operation soon, the nation may see power restrictions and shortages some years later. And if the other three plants are decommissioned on or ahead of schedule without having other substitute resources ready, steep hikes of electricity prices will be inevitable, Jiang explained.
The Executive Yuan asked the Ministry of Economic Affairs to call the national energy conference before the next legislative session begins. The participants will assess the impact of suspending the LNPP after safety inspections and explore potential alternative energy solutions. “This will allow everyone to come together and discuss energy policy in a rational manner,” Jiang said.
“The conference should discuss responsible and feasible plans for helping citizens reduce carbon emissions and conserve energy, as well as for choosing and developing alternative resources.”
Jiang hopes the conference will help people find common ground and produce a solution that balances the needs for stabilizing energy supplies and protecting the environment.
Suspension of LNPP construction cannot be equated with aborting the policy to build the plant, the premier emphasized.
“The government did not change this important national policy but instead acted in accordance with the conclusion reached by ruling and opposition legislative caucuses on February 26 last year,” he said.
According to that resolution, the administration will not allocate any additional budget nor will it allow fuel rods to be installed at the LNPP prior to a referendum on the plant’s future. As for funding that had already been budgeted for 2012 and 2013, besides safety inspections and work that had already been contracted out, all other construction would be temporarily suspended.
If the plant is to become operational in the future, it must first undergo a referendum. The administration will not propose any additional budget allocation for the LNPP for legislative approval until this referendum has been completed.
Responding to questions from the press about the Democratic Progressive Party’s proposals for a special statute and a lower threshold for the LNPP referendum, the premier stated that the nation already has a Referendum Act, and that this law should apply universally to all national or local referendums, although there is room for discussion with respect to local referendums.
“Regardless, all potential national referendum issues, such as the fourth nuclear power plant or the abolition of capital punishment, are controversial; therefore the administration must be very cautious with these matters,” Jiang said. “Moreover, it is not appropriate to set up a special statute and separate threshold for every issue as it would practically void the Referendum Act.”
The act requires participation from 50 percent of the nation’s eligible voters and the support of more than half of those participants for a referendum to pass. “These same rules are employed by many organizations at their member meetings. The current referendum threshold is fairly reasonable,” Jiang said.
The premier also denied rumors that the Taiwan Power Co. would install fuel rods at the plant as soon as safety inspections are completed in June. According to the February 26, 2013 resolution between ruling and opposition parties, the nuclear plant will not commence operations until it is approved by a national referendum. Funding for this project has been allocated according to that agreement, and the government will not seek additional financing.
The premier expressed hope that all citizens will deeply contemplate whether they can bear rising electricity prices, the risk of brownouts, and the impact these factors would have on the economy and their quality of life.
