Brownouts feared Monday afternoon as Luzon grid goes on red alert
NGCP power lines (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Electricity outages may occur in parts of Luzon from 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday when the power grid goes on red alert, the Department of Energy (DOE) said.
In a post on its Facebook page, the DOE said the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) expected a yellow alert in the entire Luzon grid starting 10 a.m. After the scheduled red alert from early to mid-afternoon, another yellow alert will follow from 4:01 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
“The Red and Yellow Alerts have been caused by insufficient operating reserves due to the forced outage of multiple power plants,” the DOE said.
“A Yellow Alert status does not result in power interruptions. However, depending on system conditions, the occurrence of power outages from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM is possible,” DOE added.
The three-hour red alert came after successive red alert issuances by the NGCP last week, attributed mainly to a thin power reserve. Certain localities in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Batangas experienced brownouts on Friday afternoon to manage the thinning supply.
Article continues after this advertisementAccording to NGCP’s power outlook for Monday, Luzon has 1,403 megawatts (MW) of gross reserves, Visayas with 88 MW, and Mindanao with 423 MW.
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To help prevent outages, the DOE said power industry stakeholders would implement the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) system. Aside from that, the department also called on consumers to use electricity efficiently and conserve energy.
Under the ILP, companies with their own power generation sets are encouraged to use their units instead of tapping the grid. Participating companies will be compensated for fuel costs.
“Consumers may participate in averting any power interruption by the using their electricity wisely and efficiently. ‘Energy efficiency’ means the use of energy without waste, or ‘walang sayang’,” the DOE added. /cbb
