High electricity demand, weather causes unplanned shutdowns - NGCP
(FILE PHOTO) President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. leads the inauguration of the Hermosa-San Jose 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission project on July 12, 2024, at the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines Hermosa Sub Station in Bataan with (from left to right) Technical Officer and concurrent VP of Planning and Engineering Rico Vega, Governor Jose Enrique Garcia III, NGCP President and CEO Anthony Almeda, NGCP Vice Chairman Mr. Henry Jr., SAP Antonio Lagdameo Jr. and DOE Usec. Rowena Cristina Guevarra. The Mariveles-Hermosa-San Jose Transmission Line, is expected to benefit around 59 million power users in Luzon by stabilizing power transmission services. This project ensures the reliability and sustainability of the power grid, capable of transmitting 8,000MW from power plants in Bataan and Zambales. This is part of NGCP's long-term vision for a resilient power grid, and is valued at PhP20.94 billion and includes numerous transmission towers, overhead lines, and substations. NGCP President Anthony Almeda has acknowledged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s support in advancing major infrastructure projects, contributing to economic growth.
Photo by YUMMIE DINGDING
National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) spokesperson Atty. Cynthia Alabanza said Friday that unplanned shutdowns are primarily driven by high electricity demand, which is further aggravated by prevailing weather conditions.
In a radio interview with DZRH, Alabanza said several plants are undergoing maintenance shutdowns, including one of the NGCP transmission lines that was affected due to the transmission incident, which was restored within 10 to 12 hours on the same day.
However, the spokesperson said there was supposed to be a restoration timeline for the plants’ restoration, but they were not able to come back, which is why the red alert situation has lasted for several days.
Alabanza said shutdowns are necessary to build a truly resilient system, and while people may think supply is sufficient, even small disturbances in the system are immediately reflected in power interruptions.
She also said that a resilient system, transmission, distribution, or generation issues should not be felt by consumers, as there should be excess capacity or backup plants ready to replace those that go offline.
The spokesperson said around 12 plants are currently shut down this May, which represents a large capacity of around 3,000 megawatts currently unavailable to the grid.
“But our demand, or load requirement, is over 14,000 megawatts, so ideally we should have more reserve capacity,” Alabanza said.
In light of this, she said that additional plants are operating at a reduced capacity, accounting for around 125 megawatts.
Alabanza further asserted that ng NGCP is currently waiting for large plants affected by the transmission outage, saying it is expected to return within a few hours, but can be interrupted by issues in the system.