June 5 ------ While Filipinos are still wading through torment of the coronavirus pandemic, the Luzon power grid plunged into a “yellow alert” condition Thursday afternoon due to the combined impact of Malampaya gas restriction and the forced outages of power plants. The “yellow alert” state in the power system indicates tight electricity supply, which may subsequently result in spikes in power rates and thereby increasing the financial burden of consumers.
The Department of Energy (DOE) indicated that it is not discounting the probability of “red alert” or extremely strained power system reserve which could even result in brownouts if the forced outages of power plants will keep on. It announced that the yellow alert in Luzon was raised from 12 noon to 3 p.m.; and while that condition will not necessarily result in rolling brownouts, it manifests lack of reserve; then if more plants are taken out from the system, the state of electricity supply could turn worse.
“Should forced outages persist, the DOE foresees the potential occurrence of a red alert,” the agency stressed. This prompted Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi to seek explanations of Thursday’s incident from relevant stakeholders – primarily the generation companies (GenCos), the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), as well as the operator of the Malampaya field Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. The power generating facilities that had been strained with unplanned outages are: Units 1 and 2 of the Pagbilao coal-fired power plant; units 2 and 3 of the Masinloc coalfired plant; unit 1 of the Limay coalfired plant; the San Buenaventura power plant; and unit 2 of Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp.
Those with de-rated capacities had been the Blocks A and B of the Ilijan gas-fired power plant; Units 1 and 2 of Sem-Calaca power plant; unit 1 of Masinloc plant; units 1 to 4 of Angat hydroelectric plant; units 1 and 2 of First Gen’s Pantabangan hydro plant; units 1-4 of SN Aboitiz Power’s Magat hydroelectric plant; and units 1-3 of the San Roque hydropower facility. The energy department noted that its forecast portends “sufficient supply” even as the country’s lockdown had already been eased to general community quarantine (GCQ) – entailing then that more power intensive users like manufacturing and commercial establishments are already back in operations.
The DOE nevertheless indicated “the recent forced outages as well as the natural gas restrictions to be alarming.” This is the first yellow alert after power demand in the country precipitously skidded by 20 to 30 percent during the March-May lockdowns in the country. At this point, Cusi can only assure the public that “we will exhaust all possible measures to help prevent power interruptions from occurring during this challenging period.”
Cusi similarly pleaded to the industry that they “must work together to ensure sufficient and stable power supply at all times,” while engaging them to approach the department “for any assistance the DOE could provide to fast-track the necessary restoration activities.”
Source: mb.com.ph