Consumers across the country should prepare for possible prolonged fluctuations and even scarcity of services due to power supply shortages.
The alarming situation has led the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to declare yellow and red alerts nationwide for the fourth straight day this week.
In a series of advisories yesterday, the NGCP declared simultaneous yellow and red alerts — across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao — from morning until night.
The Luzon grid was initially placed under yellow alert from 2 to 4 p.m. and 8 to 10 p.m. and then later revised to 1 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m.
On the other hand, the Visayas grid went under a yellow alert status from 1 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 7 p.m.
In the afternoon, the NGCP revised the advisory and announced that the grid’s status was raised to red alert from 3 to 4 p.m. The yellow alert status was raised from 1 to 3 p.m.; 4 to 7 p.m.; and 8 to 9 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Mindanao region was placed under yellow alert between 1 and 3 p.m.
According to NGCP, the extension of yellow alert intervals for Luzon and declaration of yellow alert in Mindanao was due to forecasted increase in demand.
“The red alert in Visayas grid is also due to increased demand and decrease in power exported from Luzon,” the transmission operation added.
24 plants idle
During the peak demand period in Luzon, only 14,535 MW of capacity was available, falling short of the 13,751 MW needed. This was triggered by the supply reduction of 1,512.7 MW due to 24 power units being unavailable.
The Visayas region had a peak demand of 2,530 MW, while the available capacity was 2,791 MW. There were 27 units either on forced outage or derated, which resulted in the availability of 604.1 MW to the grid.
In Mindanao, the peak demand was 2680 MW, while the available capacity was only 2861 MW.
NGCP recently conducted its annual Blackout Drills to further sharpen its plans and improve grid reliability and security in preparation for contingencies, including massive power outages or disturbances.
Relatedly, the NGCP said on Friday that it led Blackout Drills, conducted separately for the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids in compliance with the Philippine Grid Code, to align the responses of energy sector players in the event of extensive power interruption.
“This annual Blackout Drill is crucial for all our stakeholders as it shows preparedness, response efficiency, strong coordination, and public awareness.”
By fostering shared understanding about the importance of each stakeholder’s role and responsibilities within the system, we can ensure the timely dissemination of critical information to the public, and the continuity of essential services during power grid disturbances,” NGCP said in a separate statement.
Stakeholders from the generation and distribution sectors, along with representatives from the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission, attended the activity.
One of the primary responsibilities of NGCP, as the country’s transmission operator, is to continuously improve the operational efficiency of power transmission network operations, especially those related to System Operations.
