By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Thursday lifted the red alert status over the Visayas power grid after projected electricity demand fell below earlier estimates, easing concerns over an immediate power supply shortage.
In its latest advisory, the NGCP said the red alert, initially scheduled from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., was cancelled at 12:45 p.m. after grid conditions improved.
The projected peak demand for the Visayas was revised downward to 2,354 megawatts (MW) from the earlier estimate of 2,568 MW. Available generating capacity also declined slightly to 2,532 MW from 2,561 MW, but remained sufficient to meet the lower demand.
Despite the lifting of the red alert, the NGCP maintained a yellow alert over the Visayas grid until 10 p.m., indicating that reserve power remains below the level required to fully respond to unexpected disruptions in electricity generation.
The NGCP explained that a red alert is declared when available electricity is no longer enough to satisfy consumer demand and maintain the grid’s required operating reserves, while a yellow alert means power supply is still adequate but reserve capacity has fallen below the contingency threshold.
The Visayas power grid has experienced repeated yellow and red alerts since mid-May due to soaring electricity demand and reduced power generation caused by scheduled maintenance of several plants, particularly hydroelectric facilities.
Power supply has also been affected by forced outages involving major generating facilities, including Therma Visayas Inc. Units 1 and 2 and the Palm Concepcion Power Corporation plant.
According to the NGCP, 10 power plants are currently unavailable this month, while several others have remained offline since previous months because of prolonged outages. In addition, 14 generating facilities are operating at reduced capacity.
The combined impact of plant shutdowns and derated operations has left approximately 959.3 MW of generation capacity unavailable, continuing to limit the operating reserves of the Visayas grid even as electricity demand eased on Thursday.
ia/xf
