Luzon Grid on yellow alert Wednesday evening — NGCP

The Luzon Grid will be placed on yellow alert on Wednesday evening, citing over 20 plants on forced outage as several areas experience extreme heat while the country experiences the El Niño phenomenon.

In an advisory, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said the Luzon Grid will be placed on yellow alert — indicating that the grid has thin reserves based on the supply and demand situation — from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1.

The grid’s available capacity was recorded at 15,026 megawatts, versus the peak demand of 12,899 megawatts.

This comes as 1,409.3 megawatts have been unavailable to the grid as four plants have been on forced outage since 2023, three between February and March 2024, and 13 since April this year. Two plants are also running on derated capacity.

The Department of Energy (DOE) earlier said more yellow and red alerts are expected in the coming weeks, as the country has already exceeded its forecasted demand given the prevailing heat levels due to the El Niño.

The state weather bureau earlier said the heat index in 35 areas in the country may hit “danger level” on Wednesday, and could reach as high as 48 degrees Celsius in Camarines Sur.

For its part, the Department of Health (DOH) has advised the public to use alternative cooling techniques such as using a wet towel, and sprinkling water using a spray bottle to combat the heat.

The department has so far reported 34 cases of heat-related illnesses nationwide, of which six have died but the causes of death have yet to be verified. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News