The nation’s electricity reserves have continued to decline recently, with an operating reserve of 4.17 percent registered at 1:41pm on Thursday, the fourth straight day when the level fell below the 6 percent warning line, state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) said.
Electricity use has been high over the past few days, as people turned down the temperatures on air conditioners amid a heat wave across the nation attributed to Typhoon Kalmaegi.
The nation’s peak power use so far this month occurred at 1:41pm on Thursday, reaching 34.31MW, with the operating reserve at 4.17 percent and the reserve margin at 1.43MW, Taipower said.
Despite this, Taipower president Chu Wen-chen (朱文成) said the power supply would be sufficient to meet demand this year, as summer is coming to an end.
Power consumption usually reaches record highs in July and August. A peak level was registered in September only once.
“It’s rare to experience such high temperatures in September,” Chu said.
The nation’s power supply has been tight, as several power generators are to undergo maintenance shutdowns later this month, and hot and dry weather has caused about a 5 percent reduction in thermal power generation, Chu said.
However, Taipower has no plan to start rationing electricity, he said, while urging the public to limit power consumption.
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