TSMC powers Taipei suburbs from its own generators - Taiwan government asked for help

The company TSMC shared the energy from its backup power generators with the state energy company of Taiwan, Taipower, to help avoid power outages, according to the Taiwanese publication Commercial Times. This happened after a recent 7.4 magnitude earthquake that caused the shutdown of eight power units.

TSMC is the world's largest specialized independent semiconductor lithography manufacturing company, whose client list includes AMD, Apple, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm. Taiwan's largest company has close ties with the government, which is also its largest shareholder. This week, the government asked TSMC to provide 200,000 kW*h from the company's backup diesel generators.

Kai Jimin, a representative of Taipower, said that the need for emergency power was mainly due to the consequences of the recent earthquake, after which eight state power units stopped working. The problem was exacerbated by the seasonal rise in temperatures on the island, leading to the shutdown of additional units.

Taipower has a "gentleman's agreement" with TSMC, so the semiconductor company provided its power generators without signing a contract. Taipower typically turns to its largest clients for help when the situation becomes dire. And TSMC came at the right moment—precisely when Taoyuan, a major suburb of Taipei, experienced a complete two-hour power outage on April 16. Taipower emphasizes that TSMC's donation of electricity did not have a negative impact on TSMC's production.

The earthquake that led to the need for additional power sources was the largest in the past 25 years. Additionally, the seasonal heat in Taiwan arrives earlier each year.