Luzon grid to brace for red alerts this summer —DOE

Power consumers in the Luzon grid should brace for possible “red alert” from the last week of April to the third week of May as high demand and thin supply conditions are seen during the summer season, the Department of Energy (DOE) said Friday.

Based on the DOE’s power situation outlook, the red alert is projected to be raised over the Luzon grid from the 18th week to 21st week of the year or from April 18 to May 22.

The Energy department noted that the additional capacity of 256 megawatts (MW) to 821 MW is needed to prevent red as well as yellow alerts.

Red alert refers to a system condition when there is zero ancillary service or deficient reserves to support spikes in power demands.

Yellow alert refers to a condition in which the reserves are less than the capacity of the biggest plant online, which is 647 megawatts for Luzon.

Based on the demand forecast of the DOE, the peak demand for 2020 is at 12,285 megawatts (MW) for Luzon; 2,519 MW for Visayas; and 2,278 MW for Mindanao.

During a press conference in Taguig City, DOE spokesperson and Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella called for the full cooperation of all industry stakeholders in monitoring and responding to the power demand-supply situations.

For his part, DOE-Electric Power Industry Management Bureau Director Mario Marasigan discussed measures to prevent power disruptions.

The Interruptible Load Program (ILP), Marasigan said, gives distribution utilities (DUs), such as Meralco and ILP implementing electric cooperatives, the option to engage with their high load consumers to voluntarily reduce the latter's electricity demand, and/or use their respective (back up) generator sets to serve their power requirements to help ease demand on the grid.

Such program may be activated once the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) declares a red alert status, which notifies all possible ILP participants.

In addition, the NGCP will also administer the ILP from its participating Directly Connected Customers, as well as PEZA ecozones and DUs with any ILP participating customers, who are capable of disconnecting to the grid and self-generate power once notified by the NGCP, according to Marasigan.

The Energy official noted that such measures are just contingency in the event of forced outages, which are outside of the DOE’s control and it could not accurately forecast.

Fuentebella called on consumers to actively practice energy efficiency and conservation measures to help curb demand.

Meanwhile, the Net Metering policy issued by the DOE gives qualified DU customers the capability to generate electricity for their own use through the installation of up to 100 kW on-site renewable energy (RE) facilities.

Unconsumed generated power will be automatically exported to the DU’s distribution system, which would help augment its power distribution capacity, with participating customers earning peso credits to be deducted from their electricity bills.

The continued entry of renewable energy developers in the power industry is being strongly encouraged by the DOE through innovative mechanisms, such as the Green Energy Option Program and the proposed Green Energy Pricing Program.

Energy officials also emphasized the obligations of the NGCP and DUs.

The NGCP, under its franchise and in accordance with its Concession Agreement, should avoid stranded capacities and ensure the availability of transmission lines at all times for incoming capacity.

Under the DOE's new policy on Ancillary Services, the NGCP must also contract firm power supply reserves.

Similarly, DUs, under Section 23 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, must ensure the continuous supply of electricity services, especially during critical times. —KBK, GMA News