Filipino consumers may experience prolonged power supply fluctuations due to an expected spike in demand, likely caused by persistently high heat indices in certain areas.
The Department of Energy (DoE) on Thursday said it has “identified a strong correlation of 93 percent between peak demand and heat index in Luzon.”
“With the projection of the heat index remaining elevated in select areas, the peak demand will likely remain above forecasted levels throughout the remainder of May,” it said.
Hydroelectric power plants in Luzon are currently experiencing constraints. Thus, the DoE has urged other generation plants that are on forced outage to expedite the restoration of these facilities.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines issued a Red Alert notice for the Luzon grid from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday.
A yellow alert, on the other hand, was declared from noon to 1 p.m., 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. to midnight.
A red alert was also issued for the Visayas grid from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., while a yellow alert was issued from noon to 2 p.m., 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
WESM sale
In view of the alerts, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) suspended the operations of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) starting at trading intervals, 1:05 p.m. in the Luzon grid and 2:05 p.m. in the Visayas grid, under ERC Order on Case 2024-017 MC dated 30 April.
WESM operations will remain suspended until the issuance of a Notice of Market Resumption by the ERC.
Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla, however, argued that “Red and yellow alerts need not result in actual power interruptions if the power demand can be correspondingly reduced to respond to the decrease in power supply.”
Tight power supply conditions have persisted due to the sustained high peak demands in both the Luzon and Visayas grids, he said. Notably, the actual peak energy demand for Luzon has surpassed forecasts in this El Niño year.
Last 24 April, the peak demand reached 14,016 megawatts, higher than the forecasted peak demand for the year of 13,917 MW.
From 16 April to 23 May, the Luzon power grid experienced six red alerts and 20 yellow alerts, while the Visayas grid recorded six red alerts and 20 yellow alerts. The Mindanao grid had two yellow alerts on 24 and 26 April.
For Luzon, the actual power interruptions lasted at most one hour and 14 minutes on 16 April and not more than one hour and 18 minutes on 23 April.
The DoE noted that power interruptions were even shorter in most areas. In the Visayas and Mindanao, there were no power interruptions.
