Aquino: There’s power surplus in Luzon

President Benigno Aquino III sought to clarify media reports of a looming power crisis in Metro Manila that would result in lengthy power outages.

“There is a minimum 1,500 megawatt surplus in Luzon,” Mr. Aquino told reporters as he presided at a meeting of energy officials on the Mindanao power crisis on Friday.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) had been misquoted in the report about a looming power crisis in the metropolis.

He said NGCP officials said they had actually averted a crisis through a system already in place in the power grid.

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) on Friday said Metro Manila has been spared from blackouts that could have ensued after a 300-megavolt ampere transformer at the Zapote substation in Las Piñas City broke down last Tuesday.

Clarifying reports, Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga stressed that “there had been no blackouts nor brownouts as a result of the transformer outage.”

There are, however, certain areas that do not have power but this was due solely to the “scheduled maintenance services” as previously announced through newspapers and social media outlets, Zaldarriaga said in a phone interview.

On Thursday, Meralco issued a statement, assuring the public that it had already put in place the necessary measures that helped prevent a metro-wide blackout over the past few days.

It admitted, however, that the breakdown of the transformer remained “a serious concern” that should be addressed immediately.

The NGCP has assured the public that the so-called “N-1 contingency” of the Luzon grid was and will continue to be able to avert a blackout that could have affected thousands of Metro Manila residents.

In a separate statement, the NGCP explained that the “N-1 contingency” referred to the ability of the power grid to withstand the loss of a major system component with minimal disruption to the grid, as it has the necessary reserves.