The power supply system yesterday flashed a “yellow” alert after a coal-fired generator in Taichung broke down earlier in the day, state-run utility Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) said.
At noon, power consumption nationwide reached 36,604 megawatts (MW), or 91 percent of capacity, triggering the “yellow” alert, signaling an operating reserve margin of 6 to 10 percent of total supply, Taipower said.
The maximum power supply yesterday was 39,838MW and, during periods of peak consumption, the operating reserve margin was expected to fall to 7.67 percent of total supply, or 2,838MW, it said.
Photo: CNA
The No. 9 generator at the Taichung Power Plant went offline at about 4am yesterday due to a pipeline shutdown, but the power supply was not interrupted for long, because the plant’s No. 6 generator was activated and connected to the grid at 8:20am.
For this month, Taipower said that it raised its projected daily average peak power consumption from 35,000MW to a range of 37,200MW to 37,500MW.
The operating reserve remains at 7 to 8 percent, but power rationing is not likely, despite the tight supply, it added.
Taipower had predicted a tight power supply for this week, saying that a “yellow” alert was expected from yesterday to Friday, mainly due to heavy demand, as well as generators undergoing annual maintenance at four of its power plants.
In Keelung, maintenance on the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s (協和電廠) fourth oil-fired generator is to be completed on June 17.
In Kaohsiung, maintenance on the Hsinta Power Plant’s (興達電廠) No. 2 gas-fired generator is to be completed on June 28, while maintenance on the Dalin Power Plant’s (大林電廠) No. 6 gas-fired generator is to be completed on July 11.
In Taoyuan, work on the Tatan Power Plant’s (大潭電廠) No. 6 gas-fired generator is to be completed on July 19.
To ensure a stable supply of power, Taipower has increased purchases of electricity from private utilities and asked companies that use a large amount of electricity to reduce their consumption after 4pm, when solar panels no longer produce electricity, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) previously said.
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