PH power supply enough, but reserves thin - NGCP

September 16 ------ There is currently enough power supply to cater to the demand in Luzon but reserves have thinned that outages of plants could be felt by consumers, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said.

According to NGCP spokesperson Atty. Cynthia Alabanza, the current conditions are “normal” after the Luzon Grid was placed on Red Alert. “Right now, normal ang condition natin,” she said during a public briefing. “Ibig sabihin, base sa projection ng konsumo o inaasahan nating gamit ng kuryente, may sapat tayong supply para tugunan ‘yung consumption o ‘yung gagamitin at ‘yung pambalanse,” she added. Alabanza noted, however, that while there is no alert status raised so far, reserves remain thin compared with the ideal situation, and forced outages could cause an alert status. “Medyo manipis na ‘yung sobrang supply kaya nararamdaman natin ‘yung mga pabago bagong sitwasyon ng mga planta,” she said.

In the same interview, Alabanza said the NGCP is already coordinating with power plants to address the issue, and connect more areas into the grid, including Mindoro which remains off-grid. The NGCP said it is looking to connect Mindoro from Batangas, which will be up for the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). “Sa ngayon nagaantay kami ng aksyon mula sa ERC kung papayagan nila kaming i-interconnect pero right now, hindi pa siya nakakabit at wala pa siya sa poder namin,” Alabanza said.

Source: gmanetwork.com