NGCP: Luzon Grid to be under yellow alert Sunday evening

The Luzon Grid will be placed under yellow alert status anew on Sunday evening, as nearly 30 power plants are either on forced outage or running on derated capacities while the country faces its first storm for the year.

In an advisory, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said the Luzon Grid will be placed under yellow alert status from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. and from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Monday, May 27, 2024.

The grid was reported to have a peak demand of 10,776 megawatts, versus the available capacity of 11,127 megawatts as there were 4,417.5 megawatts unavailable to the grid.

This comes as three plants have been on forced outage since 2023, two between January and March 2024, and 17 between April and May, while six are running on derated capacities.

In a supplementary advisory, the NGCP attributed the yellow alert to the forced outage of Ilijan power plant due to tropical storm Aghon, the tripping of Pagbilao 1, 2, and 3, the tripping of SBPL due to circulating water pump trouble, the tripping of Masinloc 3 due to boiler feed water trouble, and the deration of hydro plants.

In a separate advisory, the NGCP said yellow alert status was lifted as of 6 p.m. on Sunday, due to the lower forecasted demand of 8,983 megawatts versus the capacity of 10,926 megawatts.

A yellow alert indicates that the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.

The latest advisory comes as the country experiences its first storm for the year Aghon, with Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) 2 raised over the northern and central portions of Quezon, including the Polillo Islands.

For its part, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said it has already asked commercial and industrial customers under the interruptible load program (ILP) to be on standby, in case of the need to de-load.

“Rest assured that we are monitoring the situation and will provide updates as needed,” spokesperson and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga said.—RF, GMA Integrated News