Meralco assures enough power during Holy Week

The state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) has assured residents of Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon that they will have more than enough power supply during the five-day Holy Week break.

Citing data from the National Transmission Corp. System Operations Department, Napocor said Metro Manila will have an available supply of more than 4,000 megawatts per day from April 5 (Holy Thursday) to April 9 (Araw ng Kagitingan).

Napocor said the power available to Metro Manila has been placed at 4,380 MW on April 5; 4,410 MW on April 6, Good Friday; 4,230 MW on April 7, Black Saturday; 4,170 MW on April 8, Easter Sunday; and 4,100 MW on April 9.

Napocor also noted the power supply will be highest on Good Friday since electricity demand is historically the lowest on this particular day because most power-intensive industries cut down on their working hours or altogether stop operations.

The entire Luzon grid will have an available capacity of more than 6,000 MW per day during the Lenten break, more than enough to address the daily system load of roughly over 4,000 MW from April 5-9.

Specifically, the available capacity in Luzon will be 6,464 MW on April 5; 6,224 MW on April 6; 6,334 MW on April 7; 6,250 MW on April 8; and 6,334 MW on April 9.

Meanwhile, the system load in the Luzon grid has been projected at 4,300 MW on April 5; 4,100 MW on April 6; 4,800 MW on April 7 and 8; and 5,100 MW on April 9.

Given the available capacity vis-a-vis the system load, Luzon will enjoy gross reserves of 2,164 MW on April 5; 2,124 MW on April 6; 1,534 MW on April 7; 1,450 MW on April 8; and 1,234 MW on April 9. – Donabelle Gatdula