The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has issued red and yellow alerts for the Luzon grid and a yellow alert for the Visayas grid due to insufficient power supply on May 28, 2024.
LUZON GRID
A red alert is issued from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
A yellow alert is in effect from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The peak demand in Luzon reached 12,228 megawatts while the available capacity stands at 12,669 megawatts.
VISAYAS GRID
A yellow alert is in effect from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The peak demand in Visayas reached 2,532 megawatts while the available capacity stands at 2,904 megawatts.
BACKGROUND
NGCP said, in Luzon, three plants have been on forced outage since 2023, three between January and March 2024, and 12 between April and May 2024.
In Visayas, one plant has been on forced outage since 2022, two plants since 2023, one plant between January and March 2024, and 17 plants between April and May 2024.
According to NGCP, Luzon has 10 plants, and Visayas with four plants, operating at a lower capacity rate, leading to 3,963.3 megawatts unavailable to the Luzon grid, and 587.1 megawatts unavailable to the Visayas grid.
The red and yellow alerts in Luzon were caused by the forced outage of the following key plants:
- Forced outage of Ilijan (600 megawatts),
- Forced outage of Pagbilao units 1, 2, and 3 (each over 380 megawatts),
- Forced outage of QPPL (460 megawatts),
- Emergency shutdown of San Lorenzo 50 (265 megawatts); and,
- Deration of plants Sual 1, Sual 2, Limay 4, and Limay 8.
The yellow alert in the Visayas grid was caused by the unavailability of power export from Luzon and high forecasted demand.
A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin falls below the necessary level to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.
A red alert indicates that the power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid’s regulatory requirements.
