DOE: llijan power plant to reduce yellow alerts for the rest of the year

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Saturday said the Ilijan power plant, which will start operating on May 26, will lessen yellow alerts for the rest of the year.

“Sa May 26, naka-schedule na siyang (Ilijan powerplant) mag-operate. Ten percent ng Luzon 'yung 1,200 megawatts. Kapag nag-umpisa na 'yun, mababawasan na ang yellow alerts for the rest of the year,” DOE Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

"The Ilijan power plant, 1,200 megawatts 'yan. Magiging liquid natural gas (LNG). First in the Philippines, imported," she added.

Guevara noted that the price of LNG appeared to be the same as oil. Still, its advantage over diesel and coal is its low carbon footprint, making it cleaner.

"Sa July pa matatapos ang Hermosa-San Jose. 'Yung 450 megawatts galing sa Mariveles plant, makakapasok na 'yun sa July," Guevara said.

The DOE was also monitoring the transmission line projects of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), which are the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project, the Cebu-Negros-Panay Project III, and the San Jose-Hermosa Transmission Line.

Meanwhile, Luzon is expected to be under a yellow alert every week of May until the first three weeks of June.

Guevara explained that a red alert, which indicates zero ancillary services or a generation deficiency, was raised on Monday, prompting rotational power interruptions across Metro Manila.

“’Yung nangyari nung Lunes, kasi nag-trip ang Bolo-Masinloc transmission line. Tinamaan ng kidlat, tapos bumitiw ‘yung Masinloc 1 at Masinloc 2, nawalan tayo ng 630 megawatts sa Luzon. Five percent ‘yan ng ating supply," she explained

"So ‘yung ating manipis na margin between demand and supply, hindi na kinaya, kaya nag-declare ng red alert ang NGCP at nagkaroon tayo ng brownout sa ibang areas,” she added. — DVM, GMA Integrated News