NGCP power lines (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Thursday placed Luzon under “red alert” for the second straight day.
According to NGCP, red alert was raised on the Luzon Grid from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
NGCP added that the Luzon Grid will also be put under “yellow alert” from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
A “red alert” is “a system condition when there is zero ancillary service (AS) or a generation deficiency exists.” A “yellow alert,” meanwhile, is raised when “a grid’s reserve power—the difference between supply and demand—is below the required level, the NGCP said.
Following the announcement, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) advised the public that there may be rotational brownouts or Manual Load Dropping (MLD) in case of supply deficiency.
“In case of supply deficiency, corporations and commercial establishments participating under the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) are ready to use their generator sets to help prevent / minimize incidents of power outage,” Meralco said in a Facebook post.
“May we also advise that should the need arises, there is possibility that Manual Load Dropping (MLD) or rotational brownout will take effect. We will keep you posted,” Meralco added.
Meralco advised the public to unplug appliances that are not being used and avoid opening and closing refrigerators to minimize power consumption.
Parts of Bulacan and Cavite on Wednesday also suffered brownouts despite an assurance from the Department of Energy (DOE) that there might be no need for rotational service interruptions as demand exceeded electricity supply in the Luzon Grid. /muf