After Tuesday’s yellow alert, DOE says Luzon has enough power

The Department of Energy on Wednesday said that Luzon has enough power after a yellow alert was declared in the region on Tuesday.

The yellow alert, issued by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., did not result in any reported brownouts in Luzon, the department added.

A yellow alert is issued when operating reserves drop below the required 647 megawatts (MW) contingency in Luzon, 100 MW in Visayas, or 150 MW in Mindanao.

According to the NGCP in a post on Facebook on Tuesday, Luzon's available capacity at the time was at 10,115 MW, while peak demand stood at 9,491 MW, meaning reserves stood at 624 MW.

"Luzon grid is on yellow alert due to the unexpected shutdown and limited generation of some power plants, and high power demand," the NGCP said.

The low reserves were due to the shutdown for maintenance of two units of the Calaca Power Plant in Batangas.

"Sinabayan niya 'yung mga dati nang naka-out, kaya medyo lumaki 'yung nawalang capacity," Energy Assistant Secretary Redentor Delola said in a report by Lei Alviz on 24 Oras.

However, he added, "'yung dati nang naka-outage, bumalik agad last night, so ngayon normal na tayo."

The department added that a yellow alert is not something to worry about, and that what it hopes to avoid is having to call a red alert, which would mean rotational brownouts.

Delola also said that the department expects the need for yellow alerts to be issued during the hot season, but that it also expects the power need to be filled eventually without having to resort to brownouts.

The report said that when reserves grow thin, the DOE assists plants that have encountered problems to help get them back on the grid.

It could also activate the government-owned Malaya Thermal Power Plant, or request large power consumers to use their own generators for the meantime under a program called the Interruptible Load Program (ILP).

Under the ILP, large electricity consumers such as malls, office and residential towers, and factories are asked to operate their own generators when the NGCP expects the supply of electricity to fall short of demand.

How the public can help

The DOE also said that the public can help ease the strain on the country's power resources by avoiding the use of large appliances during peak hours, or when there is the highest demand for power.

In Luzon, this period is from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

In the Visayas, this is usually from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., but during the hotter season it moves to the period from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

In Mindanao, the peak hours are from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. — BM, GMA News