CNA file photo

Taipei, June 12 (CNA) Electricity consumption in Taiwan on Monday hit its highest peak of the year, triggering a low reserve warning, as daytime highs surged above 35 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country, state-owned Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) said.

Electricity consumption peaked at 34.59 million kilowatts at 1:43 p.m. Wednesday, with the operating reserve margin falling to 3.52 percent, or 1.22 million kilowatts, as high temperatures hit most areas of the country.

The peak electricity consumption on Monday was about 600,000 KW more than the utility expected, said Cheng You-tsai (鄭有財), an official in Taipower's Department of System Operations.

The low reserve level triggered the fifth orange power warning light for this month.

An orange warning flashes when the operating reserve margin falls below 6 percent.

Showers brought by a rain front in the afternoon, however, helped drive down temperatures and ease the burden on the power supply.

In anticipation of a continued strain on the country's power supply this summer, the Cabinet's Atomic Energy Council (AEC) approved last week Taipower's application for the No. 1 reactor at the second nuclear power plant to resume operations after being down for maintenance.

The 985-megawatt reactor is expected to restart operations at full capacity on Tuesday, according to Taipower. It is capable of supplying 2-3 percent of Taiwan's electricity needs at peak demand.

Meanwhile, the No. 2 reactor at the third nuclear power plant could resume operations on June 16 after obtaining approval from the AEC to restart Monday following repairs and maintenance.

Weather conditions on Tuesday will be similar to Monday's, Cheng said, citing Central Weather Bureau data, and he expected electricity consumption to peak at 35 million kilowatts Tuesday. 

(By Huang Li-yun and Evelyn Kao)
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