Luzon grid stays under normal status on Wednesday

MANILA, Philippines—The Luzon grid remains under “normal condition” Wednesday after it was placed under red alert on Monday and for several times last week.

In an advisory, the Department of Energy (DOE) said consumers need not worry of power interruptions as the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) announced the situation at the country’s largest power grid to be “normal.”

“A normal condition for the system means there will be no power interruptions,”  the DOE said.

The Luzon grid was placed on red alert status for three consecutive days last week as several power plants went out of operation. It was again placed under red alert on Monday.

READ: Brownouts feared Monday afternoon as Luzon grid goes on red alert

As of Wednesday afternoon, the DOE said only two Luzon power plants remained under forced outage, namely, the SMC Consolidated Power Corporation Limay Unit 2, and Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corporation Unit 2 which both have a capacity of 150 megawatts.

Meanwhile, the SEM-Calaca Power Corporation Calaca Unit 2 is de-rated from its declared capacity of 200 MW to only 100 MW.

“Any additional forced outage or de-ration of plants will worsen the situation, while more participation in the ILP (interruptible load program) or efficiency in the use of electricity by the consumers will help the system,” the DOE noted.  /muf

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