Luzon power plants asked to explain more frequent shutdowns

MANILA, Philippines — Energy regulators are asking power generation companies in Luzon to explain why unplanned plant shutdowns that prompted rotational blackouts in some parts of the main island have been more and more frequent recently.

In a statement on Monday, the Energy Regulatory Commission said it sent generation companies notices of non-compliance after power plants already breached the allowable number of outage days this year in just nearly 6 months. The cap on unscheduled plant outages varies depending on the energy source, as the limit could go as long as 27.8 days and as short as 6.8 days.

At the same time, the ERC said it summoned officials of some power plants to explain their failure to report incidents of unplanned outages. Out of 2,083 unexpected shutdowns from January to April, regulators said only 1,288 incidents were reported to them.

 “We have been monitoring the activities of the Generation Companies, especially those that underwent unplanned outages, that caused the thinning of power supply in the Luzon Grid,” ERC chair Agnes Devanadera said.

“This was aggravated by the increased demand for electricity due to warmer temperatures,” Devanadera added.

Last week, the Luzon grid, which typically deals with heavy demand during the dry season, was placed under “yellow” and “red” alerts after power demand from people and businesses battling record-breaking summer heat outstripped available supply while reserves remain thin. The shortfall triggered rotational brownouts that lasted for hours in some parts of the grid.

As the rainy season starts, the energy department said demand should ease in the coming days.

According to the ERC, the lean power supply has been pushing electricity prices from Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), which serves as a venue for trading power. The agency said a task force was formed to look into price movements in the WESM.

“The Task Force has already identified the generation plants that will be prioritized for the conduct of technical inspection to verify the outages, including, but not limited to, the actions undertaken by the power plants to get back online,” it said.