The Department of Energy (DOE) yesterday warned of the possibility of power interruptions in Luzon due to the low power reserves in the grid which is expected to continue in the coming days.
The DOE issued this warning after yellow and red alerts were raised yesterday in Luzon as total projected available capacity stood at 11,729 megawatts (MW) against a projected system peak demand of 11,514 MW.
To maintain a balanced system, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines had to conduct manual load dropping that resulted in power interruptions in parts of Ilocos Norte, La Union, Zambales, Quezon Province, Camarines Norte, Albay as well as in Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) franchise area.
The scheduled load droppings can be cancelled if system condition improves especially when actual power demand falls below projections.
In a virtual briefing yesterday, DOE spokesman Felix William Fuentebella said areas for possible manual load drop are being rotated.
Fuentebella assured power interruptions will last for no more than an hour.
He added hospitals and facilities storing vaccines are equipped with backup generator sets that can support their operations even if power supply fluctuates.
“The DOE continues to monitor the power situation and will submit the additional pieces of information for the consumers and the enforcement agencies, including the Energy Regulatory Commission, the Philippine Competition Commission and the Department of Justice, considering its long term strategy of addressing the power supply and demand situation during the summer season. It continues to remind the distribution utilities and the system operator of its contracting obligations to address the needed capacity increases for a reliable power system for its consumers,” Fuentebella said.
Meanwhile, DOE Assistant Secretary Redentor Delola said available power reserves for the grid currently range from 200 to 400 MW at present, compared to last week’s range of 1,000 to 1,200 MW.
Delola said the lower reserves was caused by the prolonged shutdowns of several power plants.
The DOE said total planned outage was at 435 MW while the total unplanned outage reached 1,285 MW.
Derating hit 484 MW as the Ilijan natural gas power plant’s output was reduced to 716 MW due to ongoing gas restriction in the Malampaya resource.
Meralco said it asked its interruptible load program participants to voluntarily and temporarily de-load from the grid and use their own generator sets. As of yesterday, 86 participating establishments have confirmed willingness to de-load 168 MW. – J. Macapagal
