Gatchalian to DOE: Why are your projections ‘off’ on Luzon rotational brownouts

FILE Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian (Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian pressed the Department of Energy (DOE) for an explanation on its “off” power projections after the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Luzon grid on red alert Monday afternoon.

Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate energy committee, said his panel was earlier assured by the agency that there will be no brownouts as the government rolls out its COVID-19 vaccine program.

“The committee was assured by the DOE that no brownouts will happen given that the country is in a delicate stage of its vaccine rollout,” the senator said in a tweet Tuesday.

The committee was assured by the DOE that no brownouts will happen given that the country is in a delicate stage of its vaccine rollout. They should explain why their projections are off! They are the sole agency task to assure the public of constant flow of electricity to homes.

— Sherwin Gatchalian (@stgatchalian) May 31, 2021

“They should explain why their projections are off! They are the sole agency tasked to assure the public of constant flow of electricity to homes,” he added.

In a Senate energy committee hearing last April 27, the DOE said no power outages are expected for April, May, and June in the Luzon grid.

With the NGCP placing the Luzon grid under red alert, the area was hit with rotational brownouts.

EDV