【New News】Fitch Views Taiwan 2026: AI as a Power-Hungry Monster? Up to 10 Million Households' Worth of Electricity Demand Expected in Next 5 Years – How Will Taiwan Respond?

AI and semiconductor expansion are subjecting Taiwan's electricity demand to a new stress test. According to Fitch Ratings, Taiwan could see an additional 5GW of electricity demand by 2030 due to the expansion of tech industries such as semiconductors and advanced packaging. This represents 8% to 9% of current total generation capacity, equivalent to five large power generation units or simultaneous electricity use by 5 million households. Notably, this estimate does not yet fully account for the additional load potentially brought by AI data centers. To prevent large-scale investments from overwhelming regional power grids, the government has required projects with over 5MW of power consumption to submit electricity demand explanations and undergo review prior to installation. At the 'Fitch Views Taiwan 2026' event, most participants projected that AI and tech industries could add up to 10GW of electricity demand over the next five years. Although Fitch's estimate is around 5GW, it is already sufficient to place significant pressure on power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and regional grids.