Luzon, Visayas grids on red alert for second day

THE Luzon and Visayas grids were again placed under red alert on Thursday after plant outages reduced available generating capacity below peak demand levels, prompting the dispatch of natural gas-fired power plants to support grid stability.

In separate advisories, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Luzon and Visayas grids under red alert from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Yellow alerts were also raised over Luzon from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. on May 15. The Visayas grid was likewise placed under yellow alert from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.

A red alert is issued when available power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and required operating reserves. A yellow alert is declared when operating reserves fall below the required contingency level.

According to NGCP, a total of 4,459 megawatts (MW) was unavailable to the Luzon grid as several power plants remained offline. As a result, available capacity fell to 12,464 MW, below peak demand of 12,877 MW.

The grid operator said the Tayabas-Ilijan 500-kilovolt (kV) line and the Dasmariñas-Ilijan 500-kV line were restored at 2:44 p.m. on May 13, allowing affected plants to synchronize back to the grid.

Meanwhile, available capacity in the Visayas grid stood at 2,377 MW, below peak demand of 2,552 MW, after a total of 902.7 MW of capacity went offline.

In a statement, Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin directed all generation companies involved to immediately resolve plant issues and return facilities to full rated capacity.

“The DoE’s top priority is to protect consumers and maintain grid stability. We have directed all concerned generation companies to expedite the restoration of affected units at the soonest possible time,” Ms. Garin said.

Amid the large capacity shortfall in the Luzon grid, major natural gas plants in Batangas were tapped to reinforce supply, according to Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevara.

Ms. Guevara said the gas-fired power plants operated by Prime CoreGen, a subsidiary of Prime Infrastructure Capital, Inc., were “actively dispatched” during the alert period.

Prime CoreGen currently operates First Gen Corp.’s natural gas plants, including the 1,000-MW Sta. Rita Power Plant, the 500-MW San Lorenzo Power Plant, the 450-MW San Gabriel Power Plant, and the 97-MW Avion Plant, following their P50-billion acquisition deal last year.

“Sta. Rita and Ilijan units exhibited sustained high utilization, EERI (Excellent Energy Resources, Inc.) units showed stable mid-to-high loading, San Gabriel operated at moderate levels, and Avion units remained at relatively low but consistent output levels,” Ms. Guevara said.

However, insufficient electricity supply prompted NGCP to implement manual load dropping, or rotational power interruptions, in parts of Luzon and the Visayas to maintain grid integrity.

Affected areas included parts of Metro Manila, Albay, Baguio City, Benguet, Ilocos Norte, Batangas, Isabela, and Cagayan.

The outages also affected parts of Cebu, Negros Island, Panay Island, Leyte, Samar, Biliran, and Bohol.

In areas served by Manila Electric Co., the country’s largest private electric distribution utility, nearly 1.9 million customers were affected during the first red alert notice issued on May 13. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera