Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin on Wednesday, May 13, ordered the expeditious restoration of three major power plants in the Visayas to stabilize the regional grid, which is currently grappling with critical supply shortages.
The Negros Electric and Power Corp. in an advisory Wednesday night said due to the red alert status declared by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), temporary “rotational brownouts” or Manual Load Dropping (MLD) were being implemented in its coverage area to help prevent a larger power outage in the grid.
Garin, in a statement released Wednesday, said the Visayas grid was placed under red alert from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a following yellow alert scheduled until 9 p.m. due to a power supply shortfall on Wednesday.
To address the shortfall, Garin directed Therma Visayas Inc. Units 1 and 2 and Panay Energy Development Corporation Unit 3 to fast-track the repair and return of their generating units.
The Department of Energy (DOE) Visayas Field Office has also been deployed to conduct on-site inspections at the affected facilities to ensure the units return online safely and promptly, she said.
“Our directive is the same: restore normal conditions as quickly as possible and protect Filipino consumers from prolonged supply disruptions,” Garin said.
The DOE is managing the power situation in both the Visayas and Luzon grids in real time, she said.
Distribution utilities remain on standby to activate the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) if necessary to prevent widespread blackouts, she added.
Garin has also directed the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to immediately resolve transmission constraints affecting the dispatch of large power plants and triggering yellow and red alerts in Luzon grid.
A red alert status is issued when power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid’s regulating requirement, the NGCP said.
A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement, it added.
NGCP said because of the extreme heat, electricity use has sharply increased as more people rely on air conditioners, electric fans, and other cooling devices. At the same time, the Visayas grid is experiencing limited supply due to forced outages in several generating power plants, it said.
To maintain stability of the grid and prevent power system from shutting down, some areas are temporarily affected by rotational brownouts while the power supply is being balanced and managed safely, NGCP said.*
[sibwp_form id=1]