Taipower puts energy in reserve for summer

Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) said on Sunday that the nation will still have an electricity reserve margin of 12.5 percent to maintain a stable power supply, after Unit 1 of the Linkou Thermal Power Plant in New Taipei begins commercial operation this summer as expected.

Taipower was responding to media reports that Taiwan may face a high risk of power outages this summer due to the postponement of two power-plant projects.

The annual power reserve capacity margin refers to a utility’s capacity to generate more energy than the total power system normally requires.

According to media reports that Taipower had originally planned to complete renewal projects for Unit 2 of the Talin Power Plant in Kaohsiung and Unit 2 of the Linkou Power Plant with a total capacity of 1,600 MW this summer.

However, due to a postponement of the two projects and the delayed replacement of old power generation units at the Talin plant, the reserve margin could go from positive to negative, raising the risk of power outages in the country this summer.

In response, Taipower said that Unit 1 of the Linkou Power Plant, which was scheduled to start operation in November 2015, but due to a pipe rupture during the test run of the power generation unit, its operation was suspended and a trial run on the unit is set to be resumed on Tuesday. The unit is set to go into operation this summer and run at full capacity next summer.

To ensure a stable supply of electricity this summer, in addition to strengthening power plant operations and maintenance, Taipower will continue to promote electricity conservation and the reduction of power consumption during peak hours and explore more sources of power generation, the company said.