Power failures were reported in many parts of Taiwan on Thursday following what the presidential office said was “an incident” at a power plant.
The blackouts occurred after 9 am (0100 GMT) across the island, from the capital Taipei to central Taichung city and southern Pingtung county, reports said.
The electricity failures came as President Tsai Ing-wen was set to meet former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. They also came a day after a visit by a delegation of former US security officials, a trip denounced by Beijing, which sees Taiwan as its territory and denounces any official ties the island has with other countries.The Presidential Office said an initial probe showed the blackouts were caused by “an incident” at a power plant in southern Kaohsiung city.While power supply at the president’s office was normal, it said a scheduled live stream of Tsai’s meeting with Pompeo was cancelled.”President Tsai has instructed the cabinet and relevant agencies to clarify the cause of the incident… and resume power supplies as soon as possible,” the statement read.
