The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines on Monday placed the Luzon Grid on “red alert” and instructs Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to implement rotational brownouts after five power plants were on a forced outage amid the summer heat.
According to the NGCP, the red alert status for the Luzon grid was raised at 1 p.m. and will last until 4 p.m. and it will be followed by a yellow alert status from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
NGCP added that the red alert status will again be reinstated from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
A red alert status indicates that there is zero ancillary service or that a generation deficiency exists, while a yellow alert status indicates that the grid has thin reserves.
The NGCP said the available capacity was recorded at 12,186 megawatts, with the peak demand at 12,468 megawatts.
This comes as there were five power plants on forced outage, while three others were running on derated capacities, translating to 1,354 megawatts unavailable to the grid.
Power interruptions
For its part, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said it is implementing manual load dropping (MLD) or rotational power interruptions of up to two hours in parts of its franchise area, as instructed by the NGCP.
“We also advised interruptible load program (ILP) participants for possible de-loading from the grid to help ease the situation,” it said in a separate statement.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and are ready to implement additional measures if needed,” it added.
Meralco constructs, operates, and maintains electric distribution systems in the cities and municipalities of Bulacan, Cavite, Metro Manila, and Rizal, as well as certain areas in the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Pampanga, and Quezon.
The firm counts as subsidiaries and associates Vantage Energy Solutions and Management Inc. and MeridianX Inc., acting as retail electricity suppliers in Luzon and the Visayas. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/ VAL, GMA Integrated News
Rotational brownouts implemented as Luzon grid goes on ‘red alert’
Source: Balita News
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