Taipower to adjust power capacity for peak travel season

Taipei, June 16 (CNA) The Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) pledged Sunday to review and adjust its electricity supply for Taiwan's outlying islands during the peak summer season after Liuqiu Island lost power for an hour on Saturday.

In a statement Sunday, the utility said the power outage, which hit the island located just off the northwest coast of Pingtung County at around 7:30 p.m., was the result of hot weather and large numbers of tourists turning on electrical appliances.

The result was power demand of 12,475 kilowatts (kW), a record high, and the system tripped because of the overload, causing the blackout.

After confirming there were no other malfunctions, Taipower was able to restore the area's electricity in about an hour, the statement said.

According to Taipower, the highest electricity loads on the island over the last three years have been recorded between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.

There was a peak of 11,660 kW on June 8 during the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend, and the peak in 2023 came on June 22 at 11,700 kW.

The Pingtung County Government Transportation and Tourism Development Department said 10,418 people landed on Liuqiu Island on Saturday, a typical number for a weekend during peak travel season.

In a statement Sunday, Pingtung County Magistrate Chou Chun-mi (周春米) said the county government immediately requested the Taitung branch of Taipower to help after getting word of the blackout.

She also appealed to Taipower to review its power supply situation so that outages do not reoccur, the statement said.

Liuqiu Township is currently undergoing a systematic voltage change that is expected to increase electricity supply in the future, Taipower said.