NGCP: Luzon gripped by emergency outages to stabilize supply

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines on Wednesday said Luzon is currently in the grips of rotational power outages as part of an emergency measure to stabilize the supply to the main grid. Lilibeth P. Gaydown, NGCP North Luzon public affairs officer, told GMA News Online that Northern Luzon is currently experiencing rotational brownouts or “emergency manual load dropping to stabilize power in the area.” “Malawak ‘yung area sa Northern Luzon na apekatado,” she said, citing the Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, and Central Luzon as parts of the main island which lost power on Wednesday. The Department of Energy is waiting for the report of systems operator NGCP on the extent of the power interruptions in Luzon. In a separate interview with GMA News Online, DOE Electric Power Industry Management Bureau director Mylene Capongcol said the department cannot yet comment on the extent of the outage as they are still waiting for the NGCP report. "It is Luzon-wide but I cannot elaborate on the specific areas affected by the power interruption. NGCP will report later in the evening," she said. The DOE official noted that Manila Electric Company (Meralco) also gave an update on the situation concerning its franchise area. "Meralco reported half of its customers had no power. The NGCP reported that 3,700 megawatts was offline and Meralco's franchise area uses 6,000 megawatts," she added. In a separate interview with GMA News Online,  Meralco spokesperson Joe  Zaldarriaga said there are still areas with no power as of this posting. "We are constantly coordinating with systems operator NGCP and as power comes in, we restore the power in areas affected," he said. In an interview on ANC's "Inside Business," Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla said there will be no power interruptions on May 13. "We're confident we're gonna have power." he said. The department asked malls to turn off power on May 13, a move that businesses welcomed, the Energy chief noted. "We asked them... 'Give me the grid for one day... and then use your gen sets.' It's voluntary... They know how important this is to Philippines... especially Mindanao," Petilla added. Five power plants conk out Five power plants supplying the Luzon grid conked out almost simultaneously on Wednesday afternoon plunging many parts of the main island into darkness. The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines noted in an e-mailed statement that 3,700 megawatts were offline from the grid, causing massive outages in Luzon—including large swathes of Metro Manila. "NGCP assures the public that its transmission lines are secure and fully-functional. It will dispatch available capacities once the power plants are restored and online," according to the Sy-led company which operates the country's power transmission lines through the Luzon grid. Because of the timing—five days before the May 13 midterm elections—the Energy Department allayed fears of a sabotage. Petilla said measures are being taken to make sure this will not be repeated on Election Day, according to radio dzBB. However, DOE Electric Power Industry Management Bureau's Capongcol said in a separate dzBB interview the government is taking  to limit the chances of a major outages happening on May 13 but that there is no 100-percent guarantee to that effect at this point. "Posible yan kaya yan tinitingnan ng DOE para hindi mangyari," she said. The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) is raising questions on the connection to the May 13 polls. "Power outage days before the elections is not a very good thing. May contingencies ba sa brownout bukod sa PCOS UPS (uninterruptible power supplies)?" Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. The Meralco, which distributes power to Metro Manila and nearby provinces, said there is no definite timetable when power will be fully restored. "There is no estimated time of restoration yet, but all efforts are being exerted to restore the power at the soonest possible time," Meralco added. — Rouchelle Dinglasan/Danessa Rivera/LBG/VS, GMA News