Peak electricity consumption nationwide yesterday surged to a record 40.74 gigawatts (GW) amid high temperatures and robust manufacturing activity, surpassing Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower, 台電) 40GW threshold for a third day.
The peak power consumption pushed Taipower’s operating reserve to as low as 10.3 percent, nearing its “yellow” range of 6 to 10 percent, which raised concern about tight power supply and potential rationing.
The yellow designation means that the electricity supply is under constraint, the state-run utility company said.
Photo: CNA
Yesterday’s peak consumption surpassed its estimates of a peak of 39.7GW and 40.64GW for this year and next year.
As high temperatures are set to continue over the next few days, Taipower said it expects peak power consumption to remain high next week.
The company raised its forecast of peak power consumption for next week to 41GW, Taipower spokesman Wu Chin-chung (吳進忠) told the Taipei Times.
“The peak power consumption might surpass today’s level next week,” Wu said. “With more sources of solar power to be connected to the grid, we expect operating reserves largely to remain at a healthy level of more than 10 percent next week.”
Taipower’s latest forecast shows that operating reserves could drop to 8.63 percent tomorrow, 9.05 percent on Monday and 9.82 percent on Tuesday.
Aside from rising demand for electricity, a reduction in power generation from local cogeneration companies is also attributing to lower operating reserves, Wu said.
Cogeneration companies idled some power generation facilities due to soaring global fuel prices, he said.
The nation’s power usage is expected to expand 2.3 percent annually from this year to 2028, due to strong economic growth and a flourishing manufacturing sector, the Bureau of Energy said in a report.
Peak power consumption is to climb 2.5 percent year-on-year, the bureau forecast.
That represented a significant rise, compared with annual growth of 1.6 percent from 2012 to last year, the report said.
As more manufacturers bring their Chinese production back to Taiwan to cope with geopolitical tension, electricity consumption is rising, the bureau said.
Last year, power consumption rose 4.5 percent year-on-year, it said.
The report showed that energy from renewable sources would make up about 15.1 percent of total power generated by Taipower and private power generators in 2025, falling short of the 20 percent target set by the government.
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