CNA file photo

Taipei, Aug. 7 (CNA) Taiwan's heavy business power users could revert to the dark days of power rationing after the electricity supply flashed the first red-light warning of the year Monday as temperatures in Taipei hit a record high for 2017, driving up demand for electricity.

If rationing is initiated, state-owned Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower, 台電) will implement it based on the standard operating procedure (SOP) formulated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

According to the SOP, if power shortage occurs on a certain day, Taipower will inform heavy users that rationing measures will be put in place the next day. In such a situation, Taipower will cut power supplies by 5 percent to businesses that use more than 5,000 kW, followed by a power supply reduction of 5 percent also to those who use 1,000-5,000 kW if the problem is not resolved.

The rationing will further increase to 10 percent or even 15 percent if the power supply becomes even tighter, it said.

If the power supply remains insufficient, power rationing will also be imposed on businesses that use less than 1,000 kW, as well as households.

Since 1988, Taipower has implemented power rationing 57 times. The last time it was imposed was 15 years ago. 

(By Huang Li-yun and Evelyn Kao)
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