Taipower Supports Pandemic Prevention with a Stable Electricity Supply for Face Mask Factories
Provided a stable electricity supply to support the manufacturing plants.
When the COVID-19 pandemic first broke out in early 2020, the number of confirmed cases rose rapidly across the world. The government in Taiwan worked with the private sector and adopted multiple emergency response measures. The requirement for mandatory wearing of face masks was announced during Chinese New Year when work in all industries was suspended. As the domestic face mask supply was insufficient to meet public demand, people grew increasingly anxious about their availability.
Taiwan's "National Face Mask Production Team" was born under these circumstances and Taipower immediately provided a stable electricity supply to support the manufacturing plants. A face mask rationing system was created, which became the envy of many countries, and it quickly relieved the pressure of the domestic pandemic and the psychological pressure on the public. Taipower has taken the three following approaches to providing a stable electricity supply:
Enhance maintenance of power supply equipment
| Approach | The government announced the requisition of masks at the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. Taipower sought to ensure a stable electricity supply for face mask factories and has strengthened its electricity supply circuit maintenance for face mask factories since February 2020. Taipower actively assigned personnel to conduct inspections of internal and external circuits, and implemented infrared inspections to enhance maintenance. The Company helped to inspect users' equipment, measured the capacity of circuits and suspended scheduled power outages. It also established direct contact people to help factories quickly respond to related requests. Taipower mobilized 1,000 personnel from 18 branch offices to ensure the stable supply of electricity. The Company hoped to make use of its expertise to ensure the stable supply of electricity during the production of more than 10 million face masks per day, and took practical actions to support the expansion of production in factories producing pandemic prevention supplies. |
| Actual Cases |
Taipower's Changhua Branch Office is responsible for an area with nearly 30 face mask factories. They account for 25% of the requisition and material supply of face masks and are important members of the National Mask Production Team. Taipower has assigned more than 400 personnel to inspect the face mask factories and ensured a stable electricity supply. It also helped the face mask factories to modify their electrical circuits. It assigned dedicated staff to actively process the new electricity consumption necessary for production expansion, and the supply was done within one week. The branch office also adopted several practical support measures, such as increasing the number of preventive electricity supply circuit inspections, preparing emergency repairs and alternative electricity supplies to respond to emergencies, temporarily suspending planned power outages, and establishing contact persons with each factory to resolve electricity consumption issues. 
|
Electricity bill reduction for face mask factories
| Approach | The government announced the requisition of face masks to prevent the spread of the pandemic and the Ministry of Economic Affairs instructed the factories of the "National Face Mask Production Team" to operate 24 hours a day. Taipower promptly reduced the additional electricity fees that resulted when increased production drove electricity demands that exceeded the original contract capacities. From January 24, 2020, Taipower calculated charges for electricity consumption in excess of the maximum demand based on the unit prices stipulated in the originals contract with no additional fees collected. |
| Actual Cases |
Taipower implemented measures to reduce commercial electricity fees for factories responsible for producing pandemic prevention supplies. For instance, the Company reduced fees for a factory in Changhua by NT$15,000, and reduced fees for a factory in Taoyuan by nearly NT$18,000. With Taipower's strong support, the face mask production capacity increased from 1.88 million pieces per day in January to 20 million pieces per day in May. The production capacity met public demand and made it possible for Taiwan to implement its unique mask diplomacy during the pandemic. 
|
Regular visits and heartwarming services
| Approach | In response to the demand for additional production lines in face mask factories, the Directors of each Taipower branch office personally visited the person-in-charge of each factory to help them apply for additional electricity supply. The Sales Departments of each branch office also actively assigned personnel to conduct regular inspections of the face mask factories to contribute to the pandemic prevention in Taiwan for the benefits of ourselves and others. |
| Actual Cases |
In February 2020, the Director of Taipower's Keelung Branch Office visited a mask factory in the area to understand the need for additional power capacity. When the factory was installing additional machines, the service director of the Keelung Branch Office brought an additional electricity consumption registration form and assisted the customer in completing the application procedures. The inspections were completed and electricity supply was increased on the same day. In early March, the manufacturer was going to add a new factory to expand its production line in accordance with the policy, so it needed to shut down and replace its equipment to increase electricity consumption. To avoid affecting the production of masks, Taipower made use of the lunch break of the mask factory during weekends to reduce the construction time of the power outage to within one hour and shorten the power supply process to one week. Taipower took the initiative to understand the needs of the factories and provided assistance to achieve the national mask production target together with the mask manufacturers. 
|