NGCP: Rotating brownouts implemented as red, yellow alerts raised over Luzon grid

Electricity consumers across the Luzon power grid should brace for brief power interruptions on Wednesday afternoon as the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the island under yellow and red alerts amid thinning power reserves.

In an advisory, the NGCP said it might implement Manual Load Dropping (MLD) or rotational brownout in the following areas to maintain the integrity of the power system between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.:

• ABRECO (whole province of Abra)
• PENELCO (parts of Bataan)
• PELCO III (parts of Pampanga)
• BATELEC II (parts of Batangas)
• MERALCO (parts of Metro Manila)
• ALECO (parts of Albay)
• CANORECO (parts of Camarines Norte)
• CASURECO I (parts of Camarines Sur)

The grid operator is likewise implementing MLD in these areas from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.:

• LUELCO (parts of La Union)
• BATELEC I (part of Batangas)
• BATELEC II (parts of Batangas)
• QUEZELCO I (parts of Quezon)
• ALECO (parts of Albay)
• MERALCO (parts of Metro Manila)

Rotating brownouts are also implemented from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the following:

• INEC (Parts of Ilocos Norte)
• Ibaan Electric Corp. (Parts of Batangas)
• QUEZELCO I and II (Parts of Quezon)
• ISELCO I (Parts of Isabela)
• BENECO (Parts of Baguio City and Benguet)
• PELCO II ( Parts of Pampanga)
• ZAMECO I (Parts of Zambales)
• ZAMECO II (Parts of Zambales)
• ALECO (Parts of Albay)
• FLECO (Parts of Laguna)
• PENELCO (Parts of Bataan)
• CASURECO III (Parts of Camarines Sur)
• SORECO II (Parts of Sorsogon)
• MERALCO (Parts of Metro Manila)

The following Luzon areas will have rotating brownouts from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.:

• INEC (parts of Ilocos Norte)
• BENECO (parts of Baguio City and Benguet)
• ISELCO I (Parts of Isabela)
• CAGELCO II (Parts of Cagayan and Apayao)
• FLECO (Parts of Laguna)
• QUEZELCO I and II (Parts of Quezon)
• ZAMECO I (Parts of Zambales)
• ZAMECO II (Parts of Zambales)
• SORECO II (Parts of Sorsogon)
• Ibaan Electric Corp. (parts of Batangas)
• BATELEC II (parts of Batangas)
• PENELCO (parts of Bataan)
• CASURECO II (parts of Camarines Sur)
• OEDC (parts of Olongapo City)
• MERALCO (parts of Metro Manila)

In another advisory, MLD is also expected to implement in the following Luzon areas from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.:

• LUECO (parts of La Union)
• ISECO (parts of Ilocos Sur)
• CENPELCO (parts of Pangasinan)
• ISELCO I (parts of Isabela)
• QUIRELCO (entire province of Quirino)
• BATELEC II (parts of Batangas)
• Ibaan Electric Corp. (parts of Batangas)
• PELCO II (parts of Pampanga)
• SFELAPCO (parts of Pampanga)
• OEDC (whole of Olongapo City)
• QUEZELCO I (parts of Quezon)
• MERALCO (parts of Metro Manila)

Rotating brownouts are expected in the following areas from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.:

• LUECO (parts of La Union)
• ISECO (parts of Ilocos Sur)
• CENPELCO (parts of Pangasinan)
• ISELCO I (parts of Isabela)
• QUIRELCO (entire province of Quirino)
• BATELEC II (parts of Batangas
• Ibaan Electric Corp. (parts of Batangas)
• ALECO (parts of Albay)
• PELCO (parts of Pampanga)
• SFELAPCO (parts of Pampanga)
• QUEZELCO I (parts of Quezon)
• MERALCO (parts of Metro Manila)

Rotation brownouts are expected from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the following areas:

• CAGELCO I (parts of Cagayan)
• KAELCO (entire province of Kalinga)
• QUEZELCO I (parts of Quezon)
• BATELEC I and II (parts of Batangas)
• Ibaan Electric Corp. (parts of Batangas)
• ALECO (parts of Albay)b
• MERALCO (parts of Metro Manila)

“Schedule may be cancelled if system condition improves, such as if actual demand falls below projections. NGCP encourages everyone to exercise prudence in using electricity,” the grid operator said.

Red and yellow alerts were hoisted over the Luzon power grid on Wednesday afternoon to evening due to forced outages of several power plants.

A yellow alert is declared when the reserve power in the grid becomes low. While supply is still enough to meet current demand, it no longer reaches the required safety margin.

At this level, the possibility of rotational power interruptions increases.

Meanwhile, a red alert is the highest alert level and is declared when the electricity supply is insufficient to meet demand because reserves are depleted.

During this status, widespread power interruptions or rotational brownouts are expected as electricity is temporarily cut in certain areas on a scheduled basis to prevent the entire grid from collapsing.

MERALCO, in an advisory, said that implemented emergency rotating power interruptions lasting an average of three hours starting 3:23 p.m. “to manage the current system condition.”

“This has so far affected more than 200,000 customers in parts of Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Metro Manila, and Rizal,” the power distributor said.

“We already requested our commercial and industrial customers under the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) to de-load to lessen the strain on the power grid. As of 3:40 PM, we have secured more than 240 MW of de-loading capacity under the ILP,” MERALCO said.

In a separate statement, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said she directed the NGCP to immediately resolve transmission constraints affecting the dispatch of large power plants and triggering yellow and red alerts in the Luzon grid. — JMA/RF, GMA News