Local industrial power users face the prospect of electricity rationing as Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower, 台電) power operating reserve ratio fell to its fourth-lowest level in the company’s history.
The operating reserve ratio, a key indicator of power supply, dropped to 2.57 percent at peak consumption yesterday as power use spiked to 32.42 million kilowatts, setting an all-time October high, Taipower said.
The ratio is expected to remain at between 3 and 7 percent this week, as the mercury is to rise along with the approach of Typhoon Haima, Taipower said.
Photo: CNA
To stabilize power supply, the company said it plans to postpone the annual maintenance of a major generator in Taoyuan, which is expected to increase power supply by 743,000 kilowatts per day.
The state-run utility attributed the supply constraint to fewer generators in operation because of annual maintenance — including the shutdown of two nuclear reactors — and the unusually hot autumn weather.
“Such low power operating reserve ratio is rarely seen in autumn, as temperatures usually cool in October, bringing power consumption down,” a Taipower official said by telephone.
This month, the possibility of rationing is higher and the company has initiated a rationing “warning phase.”
Taipower said that power reserve capacity slid further to about 833,000 kilowatts yesterday, triggering the warning phase when it dropped below 900,000 kilowatts.
Taipower said it would launch an electricity restriction plan once the reserve capacity approaches 500,000 kilowatts.
“Power supply has become a challenge this year, as power consumption continues surging because of rising temperatures,” another Taipower official said by phone.
The rationing mechanism will be triggered when the ratio sinks to 1.5 or 1.6 percent, according to a Taipower estimate.
Earlier yesterday, Taipower adjusted its operating reserve ratio estimate to as low as 1.62 percent after a generator at the Dalin Power Plant in Kaohsiung’s Siaogang District (小港) reported a mulfunction.
Taipower prevented a worst-case scenario by restoring operations at the plant at about midday, it said.
The plant has 520,000 kilowatts of capacity, the company added.
Taipower held several meetings and took measures to avert rationing.
It signed contracts with 817 major power users to reduce consumption, which helped cut 400,000 kilowatts in power use and helped push up the operating reserve ratio to 2.57 percent, a company statement said.
The power utility also purchased an extra 100,000 kilowatts of power from private-run electricity plant operators to cope with a spike in use, the statement said.
Taipower has not initiated rationing in autumn previously. Industrial power users usually suffer the brunt of electricity rationing, as Taipower prioritizes supply to households.
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