The Luzon and Visayas grids were again placed on yellow alert as of 8 a.m. yesterday as 46 power plant units were either on forced outage or de-rated displacing 2,594.2 megawatts (MW) of capacity.
Yellow alert was raised in the Luzon Grid yesterday from 2 to 4 p.m. as 19 power plant units and four more with de-rated capacities resulted in the unavailability of 2,040.8 MW in the region.
Yellow alert was also raised in the Visayas Grid from 1 to 9 p.m. as 16 power plant units were on forced outage and seven more with de-rated capacities for a total lost capacity of 553.4 MW in the region.
Yellow alerts are issued when the level of power reserve in the grid is low and power interruptions are not yet imminent.
According to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, the alerts were raised as available capacity in the Luzon Grid was only at 13,867 MW compared to a peak demand of 13,125 MW.
In the Visayas Grid, the available capacity was only 2,675 MW against a peak demand of 2,575 MW.
Meanwhile, Senate committee on energy vice chair Sherwin Gatchalian reiterated the need for the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to be more proactive in resolving issues related to power supply.
“We told ERC and DOE to improve their proactive processes. It’s not about the law but (about) being proactive… they’ve also pointed out the lack of personnel as well as training and for us, lack of anticipation on what needs to be done,” Gatchalian told reporters on the sidelines of the Solar and Storage Live Philippines 2024 event in Pasay City yesterday.
Gatchalian said issues in securing power plant spare parts as well as lack of technical personnel contribute to prolonged unexpected plant shutdowns.
The senator, however, expressed optimism current power alert levels may be resolved soon not because of the entry of additional power capacities, but due to lower temperatures caused by frequent rainfall.
