The power supply shortage problem in the Visayas has returned as the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) issued Red and Yellow alerts for the Visayas grid on Tuesday, October 20, citing an insufficient operating reserve and supply deficit caused by multiple power plant outages.
The NGCP reported that the Visayas grid currently has an available capacity of 2,468 MW against a projected peak demand of 2,545 MW.
A total of 685 MW remains unavailable to the grid as a result of forced outages and derated operating capacities across multiple generation facilities.
Key contributing factors behind the supply shortage include the unavailability of major Visayas coal plants, specifically forced outages at Panay Energy Development Corporation Unit 3 (PEDC 3) and KEPCO SPC Power Corporation Unit 1 (KSPC 1).
Power imports from the Mindanao grid remain limited due to planned outages at several key generating plants, NGCP said.
In addition to forced outages, 22 power plants are currently running on derated capacities, further exacerbating the regional deficit, it added.
A Red Alert status is declared when power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid’s regulating requirement, during which rotational power interruptions or manual load dropping may occur to preserve grid stability.
A Yellow Alert is declared when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the grid’s contingency requirement, although current supply may still satisfy basic consumer demand.*
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