Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower, 台電) three new power generators, which began trial runs yesterday, are expected to provide a combined 415,000 kilowatts (kW) from today to help ease power supply constraints, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
“We do not rule out the possibility of revising the ‘red’ alert back to ‘orange’ [today] with the support from the new generators,” Bureau of Energy Deputy Director-General Lee Chun-li (李君禮) told a news conference.
The national power supply indicator on Monday flashed “red” for the first time this year, as the operating reserve fell below 900,00kW. Taipower said at the time that it could remain in that state every day through Friday because of increasing power demand due to the hot weather.
Photo: CNA
The operating reserve yesterday plunged to 624,000kW, or a reserve margin of 1.72 percent, as power demand surged to a historic high of 36.26 gigawatts (GW) at 1:54pm when the mercury rose above 37oC, Taipower said.
The figure was the second-lowest in the nation’s history, behind 564,000kW on May 31 last year, the state-run utility said.
Lee said a new simple-cycle gas turbine at the power plant in Taoyuan’s Datan Township (大潭) could contribute 200,000kW, while a new ultra-supercritical power generator from the coal-fired power plant in Kaohsiung’s Dalin Township (大林) could contribute another 200,000kW.
A gas-fired power plant in Miaoli County’s Tongsiao Township (通霄) is expected to provide 15,000kW with an on-trial new combined-cycle gas turbine, Lee said.
The three generators are scheduled to connect to the power grid this morning and start contributing power around noon if the connection process goes smoothly, he said.
Whether the power reserve signal would change from “red” to “orange,” signifying an easing, would depend on actual temperatures today, as every 1oC rise in the temperature would increase power demand by 500,000kW to 600,000kW, he said.
Citing the Central Weather Bureau’s forecast, Taipower said the highest temperature today would be 36oC, with the maximum power demand forecast to reach 36.2GW between 1pm and 3pm.
Lee said the ministry expects Taipower and the privately run Ho-Ping Power Co (和平電力) to complete the construction of a temporary transmission tower in Yilan County’s Dongao (東澳) on Sunday at the earliest.
Taipower is to set up the first circuit on the transmission tower, and Ho-Ping Power would be able to resume operations on Sunday afternoon and start supplying 650,000kW on Monday next week, Lee said.
Lee said Ho-Ping Power could reach its maximum capacity of 1.3GW after the state-run utility puts the second circuit on the tower between Monday and Wednesday next week.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from