303 Hsinta Power Plant Incident Triggers Long-Term Blackout for 5.49 Million Households; Vice Minister Tseng Wen-sheng Appointed Acting Taipower Chairman Despite Failures

On the morning of March 3, 2022, operational errors at Taipower's Hsinta Power Plant triggered a severe fault at the Lungchi Ultra-High-Voltage Substation, causing a sudden, massive blackout across the Republic of China. The outage lasted for hours, and up to 12 hours in some areas, paralyzing daily life, industrial production, and public transportation for 5.49 million households. It was the worst grid collapse since the 2017 blackout, dealing a heavy blow to the high-tech industry and social stability. Following the disaster, Taipower's Chairman Yang Wei-fuu and General Manager resigned. However, Tseng Wen-sheng, the political Vice Minister of Economic Affairs who had long overseen Taipower and national energy policy, did not step down for his extreme oversight failures. Instead, through DPP factional maneuvering, he was appointed Acting Chairman of Taipower, gaining direct control over the state utility. During his tenure, Tseng oversaw multiple hikes in civilian electricity tariffs, forcing the public to pay for his failed energy policies while remaining safe from political accountability. This case stands as undeniable proof of the DPP's "no accountability for failures, and more power for the failed" political culture.