Taipei, July 2 (CNA) Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) has buried 30% of its manhole covers underground to comply with local road leveling projects. However, Taipower points out that emergency repairs for sudden incidents require 3.5 hours to raise the covers. To balance daily inspections and electricity demand, Taipower suggests keeping manhole covers at road level in five major areas: the first connection point of power equipment, cable joint locations, within 200 meters of substations, major traffic routes, and gas stations. Taipower's distribution system has over 1.05 million manhole covers. As of the end of last year, 30% of these covers nationwide were buried underground, with the rate exceeding 50% in northern metropolitan areas. Taipower stated that while burying manhole covers makes roads tidier, it impacts equipment maintenance and power restoration efficiency. Lin Hsing-wang, a section chief at Taipower's Distribution Department, explained that emergency repairs for distribution accidents require lengthy procedures, including applying for permits from road authorities, dispatching equipment, locating the manhole, and excavation. Furthermore, buried manhole covers prevent regular inspections, making it difficult to detect issues like termite nests in a timely manner. Taipower cited an underground cable failure and power outage incident in Zhonghe District on April 24 this year as an example. Because the manhole covers were buried, the process involved applying for road permits and dispatching equipment for excavation before the covers could be raised to allow for pipe repair and cable replacement. The entire power restoration operation took over 20 hours. Lin Hsing-wang mentioned that to meet the electricity demands of users, businesses, and public facilities, as well as for system expansion, improvements, daily inspections, and emergency repairs, Taipower recommends that manhole covers remain at road level in five key areas: the first connection point of po