NGCP says it followed normal protocols before Panay Island blackout

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Wednesday explained to the Senate that it followed the normal protocols under the Philippine Grid Code before the multiple shutdowns that led to the massive blackout in Panay.

“Between 12:06 to 14:19 [on January 2] since stable nga po ‘yung grid, normal limits ang voltage and frequency within the required, wala po tayong overloaded line, walang tripping ng lines, normal po, so we did the normal dispatch, normal process, normal responsibility as systems operation,” NGCP Assistant Vice President and Head of National System Clark Agustin said during the Senate investigation into the massive blackout in Panay Island.

Agustin cited NGCP’s records and data which indicated that there was no abnormality in system voltage from the time between the shutdown of Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC) 1 at 12:06 p.m. and the subsequent shutdown of Palm Concepcion Power Corporation (PCPC) at 2:19 p.m.

But Senate energy committee chairman Raffy Tulfo, who presided over the hearing, insisted that the massive blackout happened because of the apparent lack of intervention from the state grid operator.

“Within normal range ‘yung two-hour window period. Dahil wala kayong ginawang action nagkaroon ng domino effect. After ng PEDC Unit 1 nag-trip, nag-trip din ‘yung Unit 2, hanggang sa nagkapasa-pasahan na sa PCPC,” he said.

“You could have done something kaya tinatanong kanina wala ba kayong way na para malaman na ‘yung isang grid sa may PDEC na ito ay magkakaroon ng tripping. You could have done something,” he quipped.

For Tulfo, the NGCP should have ensured that the PEDC is conducting regular maintenance to avoid trippings.

But Agustin explained that it is not part of their responsibility to maintain their power plants.

“We maintained the range, the required range prescribed by our Philippine Grid Code (PGC). So, this proves na normal po ‘yung system between 12: 06 to 14:19 and on top of that po si PGC do not allow us to impose manual corrective actions in anticipation of a secondary contingency,” he further explained.

Tulfo reiterated that there must be corrective actions taken to prevent the massive blackout.

“Hindi na nga normal ‘yang kondisyon. Nagkaroon na ng tripping eh. Dapat nu’ng makita ninyo na magkaroon ng tripping, there must be a problem and then find out what is the problem. Paano mabigyan ng solusyon ‘yung problema bago pa man lumala. Dapat gumawa na kayo ng action,” he said.

“Lumala nang lumala because wala kayong ginawa. Nakatunganga lang kayo tapos you still call that normal condition?” he said.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, vice chairman of the Senate energy panel, pointed out that the EIMOP presentation has shown a negative margin between the supply and demand of power when the PEDC Unit 1 was down.

ERC Chairperson Mona Dimalanta said the NGCP apparently “tried to make” the power supply and demand “in normal state” because it instructed the PCPC to adjust the voltage during that time.

“The fact that they issued additional instructions is already a sign, there is a recognition that it is not in a normal state,” Gatchalian said.

He said the claim that the power supply is in normal state is “misleading” because there is already a deficit margin between the actual demand and supply.

Further, Dimalanta said the NGCP has various ways to intervene manually under the Philippine Grid Code.

“Parang masakit…na misappreciation created this massive blackout parang ang babaw ng dahilan na I misappreciated the Grid Code. Therefore, I didn’t act. Therefore, two million homes, two million connections did not have power,” Gatchalian said.

This was backed by Tulfo as he observed ERC’s apparent soft stance in making NGCP accountable.

“Bakit hindi na lang direct to the point? Sabihin ninyo mali kung mali. Tama kung tama. ‘Wag 'yung in the middle. Kasi this keeps on happening e. Kasi kung hindi kayo magbibigay ng firm stand sa sitwasyon, mauulit nang mauulit ‘to e,” he said.

“Napaka-modest ng sagot ninyo e. Malambot pa po kayo. Tapos kapag nag-uusap naman kayo off the record ‘Mali yan.’ Pero pag nandito sa harap, mis-appreciation ‘yan. Parang takot pa kayo sa NGCP…Si Presidente nga galit na e. 'Yung boss ninyo sa DOE, galit na rin. Kayo d'yan sa ERC, [National Transmission Corporation], malumanay,” Tulfo said.

Dimalanta explained that they are not afraid of NGCP but they do not want to compromise the ongoing investigation by the ERC.

Tulfo reiterated his call to review the NGCP’s legislative franchise, a move supported by the DOE noting the lack of accountability measures under their existing concession.

Panay Island was hit by a massive power outage last week due to a multiple tripping of power plants on the island.

The ERC earlier said the island's power situation had returned to normal as affected power plants in Iloilo were working again.

The DOE blamed the NGCP for the power outage and expressed support for a review of the grid operator’s congressional franchise.

Even President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Friday stressed that accountability lies with the NGCP given that the agency is tasked to ensure grid stability. The President said NGCP had time to prevent the massive power outage in Panay Island.—AOL, GMA Integrated News