Luzon and Visayas grids were again placed on yellow alerts as of 3 p.m. yesterday as 48 power plant units were on either forced outage or were de-rated, displacing a capacity of 2,575.1 megawatts (MW).
Yellow alert was raised in the Luzon Grid from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. as 20 power plant units and four more with de-rated capacities resulted in the unavailability of 2,050.5 MW in the region.
Yellow alert was also raised in the Visayas Grid from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. as 17 power plant units were on forced outage and seven more with de-rated capacities for a total lost capacity of 524.6 MW in the region.
Yellow alerts are issued when the level of power reserve in the grid is low and power interruptions are not imminent.
According to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, the alerts were raised as available capacity in the Luzon Grid was only at 14,640 MW compared to a peak demand of 13,446 MW. Available capacity in the Visayas Grid was only 2,790 MW against a peak demand of 2,444 MW.
Meanwhile, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) gathered key electric cooperative (ECs) officials in a summit last week with the Land Bank of the Philippines to discuss the Anti-Bill Shock lending program and other services that can help resolve ECs’ ongoing financial challenges.
Antonio Mariano Almeda, NEA administrator, said power grid alerts triggered rising electricity costs, causing financial stress to many customers.
First introduced in April 2023, the Anti-Bill Shock lending program will help power distribution utilities such as ECs cushion the impact of high electricity bills due to increased consumption, especially during extremely hot months.
Aside from this short-term credit facility, NEA also wants ECs to consider working with state-owned financial institutions in managing their retirement funds and cash flow. Jed Macapagal
