DOE braces for power outages

CEBU, Philippines — The Visayas power grid remains under tight supply conditions, prompting the Department of Energy (DOE) to prepare immediate measures to reduce the frequency of red and yellow alerts while several major power plants remain out of service.

DOE Undersecretary Mario Marasigan said during the virtual press conference that the Visayas is the country’s main power supply concern, with available capacity falling below projected demand during peak hours.

The situation highlights the continuing tight supply conditions in the Visayas, where several major generating units remain on forced or extended preventive maintenance outages.

Marasigan said Thermo Visayas Inc. (TVI) Units 1 and 2 remain offline due to extended preventive maintenance.

Cebu Energy Development Corp. is also undergoing extended preventive maintenance because of a major engine overhaul.

KSPC was also affected by a boiler tube leak that started last Saturday, further reducing available capacity in the grid.

The outages have significantly narrowed the supply margin during peak periods, particularly in the afternoon and evening when solar generation declines.

For the entire week, the DOE projects that Visayas afternoon demand could reach 2,629 MW against available supply of only 2,446 MW.

Marasigan said this now raises an immediate concern during the afternoon period, when demand is high and available capacity is constrained.

The DOE, however, expects some of the affected generating units to return to service soon.

TVI Unit 1 is expected to return within the month, while Cebu Energy Development Corp. Unit 1 and KSPC Unit 1 are also expected to resume operations.

The return of these units is expected to provide significant additional capacity to the Visayas grid.

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said TVI Unit 2, with about 169 MW, and KEPCO SPC Power Corp., with about 105 MW, are expected to return within the week.

TVI Unit 1 is expected to contribute another 169 MW, while Cebu Energy Development Corp. Unit 1 could add around 135 MW.

Together, these four units represent about 578 MW of additional capacity once fully restored.

While waiting for the generating units to return, the DOE is turning to battery energy storage systems as an immediate solution to help reduce yellow and red alerts.

Marasigan said the NGCP has been directed to negotiate for about 253 MW of available battery energy storage capacity located in Leyte, Cebu, Panay and Negros.

The battery facilities are intended to help balance the grid and provide additional support during periods when demand is high and supply margins are thin.

Garin earlier said the government is also looking at around 200 to 250 MW of battery storage facilities in strategic locations across the Visayas.

She said that once the battery projects and returning generation capacity are in place, yellow and red alerts in the Visayas could be reduced by at least 50%.

The DOE is also studying the use of liquid-fuel facilities that can be deployed more quickly during periods of tight supply.

The DOE is also monitoring major power projects as part of its broader effort to increase the country’s generating capacity.

Under the department’s Task Force 200, 48 projects have already been completed, including 11 battery energy storage systems with a combined capacity of 229.366 MW.

The DOE is closely monitoring 25 major power projects.

The tight Visayas supply situation comes as the DOE is also preparing the country’s power sector for possible weather-related disruptions.

Garin said a tropical cyclone could enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility and potentially strengthen the southwest monsoon, bringing heavy rains, strong winds and an increased risk of flooding.

The DOE is coordinating with electric cooperatives, distribution utilities and other electricity stakeholders to prepare for possible disruptions.

For consumers, a yellow alert means that available capacity is getting close to the level of demand, leaving a thinner reserve margin. A red alert indicates that available capacity is insufficient to maintain the required reserve, signaling a more serious supply condition.

The DOE emphasized that the current situation is being closely monitored and that coordination with generation companies and the system operator is continuing to ensure that units return to service as scheduled.

With hundreds of megawatts of generation capacity expected to come back online and additional battery storage being mobilized, the department expects the Visayas grid to gradually regain a more comfortable supply margin in the coming weeks. — (FREEMAN)