Meralco implements rotating brownouts as Luzon grid goes on Red Alert; other regions also affected

MANILA, May 14 ------ Meralco said it has begun implementing "manual load dropping" in its franchise areas following the Red Alert over the Luzon grid.

The power distributor said this means some areas will experience two-hour long rotating brownouts starting 3:24 p.m. The National Grid Corp of the Philippines placed the Luzon grid on Red Alert from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m, and on Yellow Alert from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. According to the NGCP, Luzon's peak demand is at 12,537 megawatts, while the available capacity is 12,447MW.

With several power plants on forced outage or running below full capacity, a total of 4,681.6MW is unavailable to the grid, the NGCP said. A red alert status is issued when power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid’s regulating requirement, the company said. A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement, it added.

Aside from Meralco, NGCP said several other power distributors may implement manual load dropping until 5 p.m., namely:

ABRECO (whole province of Abra)

PENELCO (parts of Bataan)

BATELEC II (parts of Batangas)

ALECO (parts of Albay)

CANORECO (parts of Camarines Norte)

“Schedule may be cancelled if system condition improves, such as if actual demand falls below projections,” NGCP said. The Visayas grid had also been placed on Red and Yellow Alert earlier today. The Department of Energy said it has ordered the NGCP to immediately resolve transmission constraints affecting the dispatch of large power plants.

According to the DOE, the 500 kV Tayabas-Ilijan and Dasmariñas-Ilijan Transmission Lines tripped at 6:30 a.m. today, causing the disconnection to the grid of the Ilijan 1& 2 (1,200 MW) and EERI Units 1,2, & 3 (1,262.1 MW). The Masinloc Unit 3, which generates 325 MW, also went on forced outage. Energy Secretary Sharon Garin has ordered the NGCP to provide details of the incidents, particularly the transmission outages. San Miguel Power Group Corporation was also told to immediately restore Masinloc Unit 3. "On both the transmission side and the generation side, our directive is the same: restore normal conditions as quickly as possible and protect Filipino consumers from prolonged supply disruptions."

The DOE said it has also coordinated with distribution utilities to activate the Interruptible Load Program if needed. When the ILP is implemented, large power consumers like malls, office buildings, and other commercial establishments voluntarily turn on their generators and offload from the grid so that more power is available to households. In the Luzon grid, Meralco has advised that load dropping in its franchise area can be avoided once the ILP is deployed, the DOE said.

The Philippines often experiences power outages during the hot and dry months of April and May when electricity demand surges as electric fans and air conditioning units get used more often.

Source: philstar.com