TAIPEI: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) was among companies that suffered a power outage at a major manufacturing site in southern Taiwan on Wednesday, though electricity has now been restored, media said.

The official Central News Agency said an underground power line was accidentally severed during construction work in the science park in Tainan in the late morning but that normal supplies had resumed as of 4 p.m. (0800GMT).

It cited Alice Cheng, an executive at the science park administration, as saying that most companies there have backup systems in the event of power failure.

TSMC, the world's largest contract chip maker, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The operations of TSMC, whose clients include Apple Inc and Qualcomm Inc, are being closely watched by its customers and investors due to a global shortage of chips for everything from cars to washing machines.

TSMC reports its first quarter earnings on Thursday.