By JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and JED MACAPAGAL
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday dismissed suggestions of an artificial energy crisis, attributing the strain on the power system to heightened demand due to extreme heat, resulting in thin supply.
That in turn has prompted the declaration of yellow and red alerts in the grids since mid April.
This developed as yellow alert was declared anew in the Luzon and Visayas Grids yesterday.
The President, in a chance interview on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project Stage II in Pikit in Cotabato, said government has been closely monitoring the supply and rates of power to ensure immediate actions are taken should any problem occur.
Marcos did not elaborate on the strategies but said the national government endorses all the programs of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), including the construction of more transmission lines as well as the use of submarine cables in distributing excess capacity from some parts of the country to areas where power is most needed.
“We continue to … endorse all of the programs of NGCP so that they will increase the coverage of their transmission lines all over the country,” the President added.
Meanwhile, yellow alert was raised in the Luzon Grid yesterday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. as available capacity was only 14,952 megawatts (MW) against a peak demand of 13,893 MW.
Yellow alert was also raised in the Visayas Grid from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. since available capacity was at 2,835 MW compared to a peak demand of 2,596 MW.
Yellow alerts are issued when the level of power reserve in the grid is low but power interruptions are not yet imminent.
In a related development, Manuel Pangilinan, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) chairman and chief executive officer, said in a briefing in Pasig City yesterday there is a need to put up conventional and dependable power plants to avoid “crazy situations” of almost daily power alert levels.
Pangilinan said if given the chance and allowed by the government, Meralco is open to investing in baseload power plants, be it coal or natural-gas fired technologies.
A moratorium on new coal-fired power plants has been in place since 2020.
“But if they do allow us, we’ll get into it and then we may get pilloried and criticized for new coal. But what is needed by the country?” Pangilinan said.
Consumer group Partners for Affordable and Reliable Energy (PARE), called on stakeholders to implement key policy changes to address insufficient power levels.
Nic Satur Jr., PARE chief advocate officer, called for the expansion of annual power generation in the Philippines to 7 to 8 terrawatts per hour (TWH) until 2026 and 8 to 9 TWH until 2030.
Satur said power local power generation must also increase to 2,000 kilowatts per hour (kWh) per person by 2030 from 2022’s 1,025 kWh.
PARE also said government should consider the inclusion of nuclear energy in the energy mix and the ban on the use of battery energy storage systems as contingency reserves, among others.
