Visayas grid placed under red alert

MANILA, Philippines — Power supply in the Visayas remained strained as the region was placed under red alert again yesterday, the 22nd time this year, and with several areas experiencing rotational blackouts.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said the red alert was in effect from 3 to 9 p.m., following  a yellow alert from 1 to 3 p.m.

Another yellow alert was raised from 9 to 11 p.m.

Since the start of this year, 87 yellow alerts have been recorded in the Visayas.

The NGCP said 938.9 megawatts (MW) of capacity was unavailable to the grid due to the simultaneous forced outage of 32 power plants, while 15 others were operating at a reduced output.

The continued shutdown of several large coal-fired power plants, coupled with limited electricity imports from Mindanao further tightened supply and triggered grid alerts.

A yellow alert is hoisted when the operating margin falls below the grid’s contingency requirement, while a red alert is issued when power supply is not sufficient to meet demand.

Peak demand reached 2,530 MW yesterday, while available capacity was just 2,237 MW.

The supply gap raised the risk of service interruptions for consumers served by at least 32 power utilities across the Visayas.

Meanwhile, the Department of Energy expects major power plants to return to service soon, while counting on battery storage systems to help ease the region’s supply shortage.

“We have mandated the NGCP to install about 250 MW of batteries. At the minimum, 50 percent less yellow and red alerts will be (raised) in the Visayas,” Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said.

A battery storage facility stores excess power generated during low-demand periods, and returns it to the grid during peak demand.