TAIPEI, March 3 (Reuters) - Taiwan is gradually restoring power supply, the state-run power operator said on Thursday, after much of the island's south and five million households were hit by an outage caused by a malfunction at a major power generation plant.

Hydro and other power plants are being brought on line to provide electricity,said Taipower, which blamed a problem with a transformer at the Hsinta power plant in the southern city of Kaohsiung for a trip at an ultra-high voltage substation.

"I am very sorry for this major loss of electricity, and am extremely apologetic for the inconvenience caused, especially for the south," Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua told reporters.

Asked whether the plant had been hacked, cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng said authorities could not rule out any cause.

"It all needs further proof and investigation, which requires evidence."

*** What do YOU think? Is China behind this? - Add your opinion in the Comments Section! ***

Video: Social Media