Taipower given a week to come up with a power planOUTAGES: The utility blamed Monday’s rolling blackouts on a surge in power usage, which hit a record for the month of May of 37.44 gigawattsBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterState-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) has one week to come up with a plan to maintain a stable power supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday, after the nation had two rolling blackouts in five days. Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei TimesPeak usage on Monday was 37.44 gigawatts, a record for the month of May and the sixth-highest on record, she said. “As power consumption patterns change, we must also change our strategy for scheduling repairs and maintenance,” she said. Taipower chairman Yang Wei-fu (楊偉甫) said all the power plants undergoing maintenance would return to full operations before next month. Asked if households and businesses can expect more blackouts this summer, Yang said that Taipower would maximize the available capacity and give users as much warning as possible ahead of any blackouts.

Source: Taipei Times May 18, 2021 15:56 UTC