Power situation normalizes

MANILA, Philippines - The situation in the Luzon grid is back to normal after being placed on yellow alert on Tuesday and despite a warning from Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla that the grid might be placed on red alert status.

In separate advisories, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the country’s grid operator, and Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s biggest power distributor, yesterday said the situation is back to normal.

According to NGCP’s power situation outlook for Luzon, the system capacity in Luzon is 8,122 megawatts while system peak demand is projected at 7,430 MW. Reserves are estimated at 692 MW.

The system status is back to normal, NGCP said even as Petilla warned late Tuesday that the situation could be aggravated by higher demand which could bring the grid to red alert status, or when there are no operating reserves.

“If demand basically shoots up or another plant goes down,” Petilla said, regarding possibility of a red alert status.

Meralco confirmed the NGCP report.

“The supply situation was improved through the coordination of First Gas, SPEX and Ilijan with the Department of Energy (DOE).  

“First Gas plants Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo agreed to use liquid fuel instead of natural gas for the 36-hour period that the Malampaya gas facility will implement reduced output, as part of its maintenance schedule,” Meralco said.

Given this arrangement, the natural gas that was originally meant for use by the First Gas plants would be allocated to Ilijan instead, so the latter can maximize its operation.

Meralco said this is a favorable situation, as it would not have to source power from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) to replace whatever capacity Ilijan would not have been able to generate.

As part of this, First Gas plants Sta. Rita modules 10, 20 and 30, and San Lorenzo module 60 started using alternative liquid fuel.

The Malampaya natural gas facility went on a 36-hour maintenance shutdown on Tuesday.

On the same day, NGCP placed a yellow alert for the Luzon grid on the back of tight operating reserves.

A yellow alert status means that contingency reserves are below the minimum level set by the regulator but does not necessarily mean power outages or blackouts.

In contrast, a red alert means there is severe power deficiency while normal alert means there are no deficiencies in supply and reserves. A white alert means the situation is back to normal.

Luzon was placed on yellow alert status during peak hours from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. last Tuesday.

The projected peak demand was 7,430 MW as against available capacity of 7,885 MW or below the 500 MW-level at 455 MW.

The tightness in supply stemmed from a problem in the Unit 2 of the 600-megawatt Masinloc coal-fired power plant in Zambales, said Mylene Capongcol, a director of DOE.

The Masinloc plant is owned by AES Philippines, a United States-based independent power producer.

The Masinloc plant went on emergency shutdown at 7:53 a.m. yesterday because of a boiler tube leak, affecting 300 MW of power.

Boiler tube leaks are problems encountered by plant boilers and their super heater pipes as a result of wear and tear because of erosion and corrosion during use.

The plant has not yet returned online as of press time.

Several other power plants are either on extended maintenance or forced outage.

These include Unit 2 of the Consunji Group’s Calaca Power Plant in Batangas, affecting 300 MW. The plant is on extended scheduled maintenance shutdown until May 1; GN Power’s Unit 1, affecting 326 MW, which is on forced outage from April 5 to 19; Unit 2 of Limay Plant, affecting 70 MW, which has been down since Feb. 28 as well as Unit 6 of the plant, which has been out since April; and Unit 2 of the Pagbilao Plant in Quezon, affecting 382 MW from April 7 to 17, according to data from NGCP.

Tight supply

President Aquino admitted yesterday that power supply in Luzon could be tight due to the scheduled maintenance shutdown of some power plants and possible breakdown due to higher demand.

In an ambush interview at the North Port Passenger Terminal complex in Manila Aquino said that he inspected in time for the exodus of people for the Lenten break, Aquino said Petilla told him on Tuesday that it would be more critical next month.

He cited ways to cut down use of power, especially since the gaps between the reserves and the anticipated demand during peak hours were small.

“So our ardent appeal is if possible, we should (raise the temperature) of an air-conditioner. What he (Petilla) cited was that instead of setting it on 19 (degrees) temperature, maybe we can leave it at 24 (degrees), that would already be a big thing,” Aquino said.

The President explained various power plants were scheduled for maintenance shutdown but there should be no shortage in supply if those in operation would not bog down.

“Now, if we delay the scheduled preventive maintenance of plants running at present, if we force them to run… then they will breakdown,” Aquino said.

To alleviate the situation, the President said the Malaya Thermal Power Plant would be tapped to augment the current supply with several hundred megawatts.

“If we do not help each other, then we will be lacking in (supply) at present,” Aquino said.

The President said the example he cited on lowering the temperature of an air-conditioning unit could make a difference.

He said the problem was that some power plants were too big and their shutdown could really affect supply, more so if they would trip.

Aquino explained once one of them would go offline, then its capacity of 600 MW, for example, must be matched by another power plant.

“And Malaya (power plant) is actually the standby. Malaya, this is in Pililla, Rizal that is being run. It is not normally run but it has been in operation for quite some time now to supplement (supply). If another 600 MW are down, that will be an issue,” he said.

Meanwhile, Meralco has advised its customers to ensure electrical safety at home, especially for those who will go out of town during the Holy Week break.

In an advisory, Meralco senior vice president and head of Customer Retail Services and Corporate Communications Alfredo Panlilio said consumers, especially those going on vacation, should keep their appliances unplugged to avoid electrical accidents at home.

“A worry-free vacation will be achieved by practicing simple safety measures such as keeping combustible materials away from outdoor lighting and other sources of heat, and using only light bulbs of specified wattage,” Panlilio said.

The power distributor said it is ready to provide assistance to customers during the Holy Week break.

Toward this end, Panlilio said Meralco would make available emergency crews, which are ready to respond to any contingency. Meralco is also on alert to respond to unexpected power outages and interruptions during the vacation.

“For any power interruption reports, our customers may get in touch with our 24-hour call center through our hotline 16211, or our Facebook (www.facebook.com/meralco) and Twitter (@meralco) accounts. We are ready to address customers’ needs at any given time,” he said.

In addition to providing emergency crews, Meralco, a company led by businessman Manuel Pangilinan, through its social development arm One Meralco Foundation (OMF) also partnered with Pangilinan’s TV-5 to provide assistance to motorists and travelers this Holy Week.

OMF has set up free electronic device charging stations at the Araneta Bus Terminal from April 14 to 17 and NLEX-Shell Balagtas on April 16, Meralco said in its advisory. 

– Iris Gonzales, Aurea Calica