Peak electricity consumption in Taiwan reached a record high for a second day in a row yesterday, rising to 38.40 gigawatts (GW) as a combination of high temperatures, a strong economy and people working and learning from home pushed usage past a previous high in July last year, Taiwan Power Co (台電, Taipower) said.
Thursday also surpassed last year’s record, with a peak of 38.02GW, the company said.
Taipower spokesman Chang Ting-shu (張廷舒) said this month’s uncharacteristically hot weather and increased electricity use due to people working and studying from home amid a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert contributed to yesterday’s record.
Photo: CNA
“We generally expect a peak in July, the height of the summer, but it has been an exceptionally hot and dry May, and we do not know how climate change might affect temperatures in the years to come,” Chang said.
Five of the top 10 peak use days have been this month, a phenomenon Chang described as “highly unusual.”
Taipower’s spinning reserve capacity, electricity production that can be ramped up on demand, was just 6.06 percent yesterday, barely clearing the 6 percent threshold for a “yellow” alert.
It has been difficult to keep the spinning reserve capacity above 10 percent, or “green,” with this month’s increased usage, he added.
“We are endeavoring to keep the power supply steady, even under a ‘yellow’ alert, through careful maintenance of power generation units and good communication with large users,” he said.
Large users, typically industrial users, are given incentives to shift power use to off-peak times.
“We are doing the best we can to keep the grid healthy and power production steady,” Chang said. “We hope that Taiwanese can work together to save power, because every kilowatt-hour counts.”
Solar power helped Taiwan through yesterday’s peak, adding more than 3,000 megawatts between 10:30am and 1:30pm, or 8 to 9 percent of the power in the grid, providing stability when it was needed most, he said.
Taipower hopes that with the approach of a monsoon weather front, power demand will decrease as temperatures drop, but people must still conserve electricity this summer, Chang said.
Taipower recommends setting air conditioners to about 28°C, or using fans instead, he said.
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