Luzon, Visayas grids under yellow alert

PHOTO FROM NGCP

(UPDATE) THE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) issued a yellow alert for the Luzon and Visayas grids on Wednesday, April 17.

A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.

The NGCP said 18 power plants were on forced outages, while three plants were running on reduced capacities.

For the Visayas grid, 13 power plants were on forced outages, while five were running on lower capacities.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association Inc. (Pippa) said on Wednesday that the majority of the 19 power plants in the Luzon grid on outage were hydro plants.

It called for the construction of more generation capacities because hydro plants are affected by the dry season every year.

“Additional capacities are really needed [and must be] supported by policies conducive and fair to capital-intensive investments. Toward this end, the current regulatory framework relating to merchant plants, government approvals, price caps, and the reserve market may be enhanced as well to allow economically feasible operations by investors,” Pippa said.

“Rest assured, we heed the call of His Excellency President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to work together and coordinate with the Department of Energy to ensure that all Pippa members will contribute reliability and stability to the grid,” it added.

The NGCP said there was a need for the implementation of strategic developments on the generation side to fully optimize the benefits of a strengthened interconnection and other planned transmission projects.

“The recent completion of the Cebu-Negros-Panay Interconnection Transmission project was touted by some parties as the primary solution to the recent spate of power outages in Negros and Panay. But this is not the sole or primary solution to the woes of Panay consumers,” it said.

“Transmission and power generation must go hand in hand. Sufficient power generation development supported by reliable transmission is the formula for optimized energy development. This will support the country’s push towards economic recovery,” NGCP added.