Normally, May IS the plum rain season, with pleasant weather and plenty of showers. However, the rains this year were blocked by Pacific high pressure until the end of the month, resulting in temperatures above 36°C across Taiwan.
In addition to being hot and thirsty, people mostly have stayed home to avoid COVID-19, increasing electricity consumption and causing Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) to issue a “yellow” alert, highlighting the strain on the power grid. Taiwan should review its model for electricity supply and demand, given that climate change is expected to bring similar challenges.
Addressing the two power outages last month, Taipower chairman Yang Wei-fuu (楊偉甫) said they were the result of annual generator maintenance, which had been scheduled without anticipation of high power consumption so early in the season.
In addition, due to the scarce rain, hydraulic power and pumped-storage hydroelectricity have not functioned as usual to provide a buffer. Overall hydropower generation this year has dropped by about 15 percent compared with the same period last year. This was compounded by power generation at the Tachia River Power Plant dropping by 46 percent.
Yang called for reduced power consumption, but the public wondered if Taiwan really is short of electricity. Some simplistic suggestions included building more power plants, reviving the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project and other proposals that do not help solve the current situation.
We should ask: Who is consuming the electricity? Despite the rise in household power use caused by the pandemic, the industrial sector uses the bulk, accounting for nearly 60 percent of electricity usage, while household consumption is only about 20 percent.
Analysis shows that 70 percent of consumption growth from 2010 to last year came from industrial power demand, according to their contracts with Taipower.
If big electricity consumers generated their own power, whether through renewable energy or other means, they could reduce pressure on the electrical grid. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has not imposed any requirements on major power consumers.
It should be noted that many Taiwanese businesses are taking matters into their own hands. Some are accelerating their use of renewable energy, meeting corporate environmental responsibility requirements. For example, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co has promised that 100 percent of its energy consumption will be renewable by 2050. Delta Electronics Inc has even set an aggressive goal of 100 percent renewable energy and net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.
However, other major power users, such as the four major industry groups — Formosa Plastics Group, Taiwan Glass Industry Corp, Far Eastern Group and China Steel Corp — have a total solar panel ratio of less than 20 percent, after deducting areas such as pipeline facilities and roofs that are not suitable for such panels. These major electricity consumers clearly have long avoided energy creation responsibility.
As for energy conservation, if the government continues to give preferential treatment to big businesses, the public will continue to experience power restrictions. Carbon pricing is what motivates companies to reduce carbon emissions and switch to renewable energy, but the government lacks the determination to formulate an effective carbon pricing policy. Just as with the plan for water conservation charges for big users, the government over the years has taken little action.
In contrast, the UK in 2019 pledged to invest US$13 million to its Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator program, which aims to increase the number of clean-energy technologies within British industry.
Developing energy-saving technologies and implementing their conservation targets is the most effective short-term solution for alleviating Taiwan’s power crisis. Such plans could also promote Taiwan’s energy transition and carbon reduction innovations to the world.
The recent power shortages highlight that major power users could signifcantly help balance power supply and demand through energy creation and conservation.
As COVID-19 spreads across Taiwan, sufficient electricity is one of the essentials for uniting all Taiwanese in the fight against the pandemic.
While encouraging the public to save electricity, the government should also use regulation and policy to compel companies to use electricity more responsibly. This would also strengthen Taiwan’s capacity to adapt in the face of climate change.
Chang Lee-hsin is head of projects at Greenpeace East Asia.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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