Red Alert status of Luzon Grid extended until 8 p.m.

The Red Alert status placed on the Luzon Grid on Monday afternoon will be longer than initially anticipated as more power plants have stalled, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) announced.

According to NGCP spokesperson and assistant vice president Cynthia Alabanza, the Red Alert status will last from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, after an additional 300 megawatts were lost following reports of more power plants experiencing issues.

“‘Yung Red Alert ho natin or ‘yung panahon kung kailan ho tayo nangangamba na magkaroon ng power interruptions, humaba po,” she said in an interview on GMA Super Radyo DZBB.

[The Red Alert or the time when we are at risk of power interruptions has lengthened.]

The Red Alert status indicates that there is zero ancillary service or that a generation deficiency exists. It was initially scheduled to last only until 4 p.m.

Alabanza said that a number of plants encountered issues, along with a transmission line that tripped over the weekend. Such plants are now having difficulty in returning to the grid.

Rotating power interruptions are likely in places serviced by the Luzon Grid, which Alabanza said could last from 30 minutes to an hour.

In a separate advisory, NGCP said it may implement manual load dropping in several areas to maintain the integrity of the power system:

1 p.m. - 2 p.m.:

• BENECO (parts of Baguio City and Benguet)
• PRESCO and PELCO 1 (parts of Pampanga)
• QUEZELCO 1 (parts of Quezon)
• MERALCO (parts of Metro Manila)

2 p.m. - 3 p.m.:

• INEC (parts of Ilocos Norte)
• BENECO (parts of Baguio City and Benguet)
• CAGELCO II (parts of Cagayan and Apayao)
• AEC (Angeles City)
• FLECO (parts of Laguna)
• MERALCO (parts of Metro Manila)
• QUEZELCO II (parts of Quezon)
• CASURECO II (parts of Camarines Sur)
• APEC (parts of Albay)

4 p.m. - 5 p.m.:

• ISECO (parts of Ilocos Sur)
• ISELCO I (parts of Isabela)
• ISELCO II (parts of Ilagan City)
• BATELEC II (parts of Batangas)
• SORECO I and II (parts of Sorsogon)
• MERALCO (parts of Metro Manila)

“Schedule may be cancelled if system condition improves, such as if actual demand falls below projections,” the NGCP said.

The NGCP is now coordinating with one of the plants, which Alabanza said could return to the grid within the day, and possibly shorten the Red Alert status.

For its part, Meralco said it is prepared to implement MLD or rotating power interruptions should it be needed.

“Meralco already advised Interruptible Load Program (ILP) participants following NGCP’s declaration of Yellow and Red alerts today,” it said in a separate advisory.

Meralco said it has a committed de-loading capacity of over 260 megawatts under the ILP. —KG/RSJ, GMA News