Taiwan is bumping up how much electricity it expects to need through 2035, a sign of how much power AI computing will eat — good for energy builders, a challenge for a grid that just went nuclear-free.

• Premier Cho Jung-tai said the yearly power demand growth estimate through 2035 will be pushed above the current 2.5%, to a safer and noticeably higher number.
• The economics ministry and state utility Taipower are redoing the numbers because local industry is worried about whether AI computing will have enough power.
• Taiwan has already shut its last reactors; restarting the third nuclear plant depends on Taipower filing a restart plan, passing safety review, replacing equipment, and reaching broad public agreement.
• The government is spending money to join international talks on small modular reactors and, next year, nuclear fusion — keeping the door open to new atomic options later.
• Plans also call for building microgrids region by region, backed by enough battery storage, so the grid is more spread out and harder to knock down.

Outlook: A revised, higher power demand target is due soon, with concrete microgrid progress promised in the near term.