Luzon seen ready for peak power demand this summer

MANILA, Philippines -  Luzon is likely to experience stable power supply this summer if demand remains on track with the forecast peak, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said.

In a press conference yesterday, NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza said power demand this year is projected to peak at 9,870 megawatts (MW) in May, a 1.48 percent growth from last year’s record.

Last year, peak demand rose 8.94 percent to 9,726 MW from 8,928 MW in 2015.

Alabanza said power supply in Luzon will remain at a “stable” level until June, if the peak demand projection is met and no unscheduled maintenance power outages occur.

“We’re stable, meaning those two conditions remain the same, meaning there will be no additional power plants to go on unscheduled maintenance power outages and that we do not exceed the forecast peak demand of 9,870 MW,” Alabanza said.

NGCP power network planning head Fidel Dagsan Jr. noted the Luzon grid has a capacity of around 11,220 MW.

“That translates to a gross reserve of around 1,350 MW,” he said.

However, Alabanza noted NGCP cannot “assure” that no power interruption will occur in the summer season, since the released figures are only projections.

“We cannot give that assurance because number one, these are projections and number two there are some factors that are beyond the grid’s component,” Alabanza stressed.

One of these uncontrollable factors is the usage of electricity.

Alabanza said the public should prudently use electricity this summer to avoid strain on the grid.

“There are some uses that you cannot postpone, like hospitals and these critical areas, but for things that we can move to another time, [when] there is less strain on the grid, meaning things that are not timebound, maybe we can do that later in the evening or during the weekends,” she said.

Moreover, Dagsan noted maintenance of power plants in the summer season need to be scheduled in order to prevent power outages.

Based on earlier reports, the Department of Energy said around 20 unidentified power plants are set to undergo maintenance in April and May, but noted there will be sufficient power supply for the summer months.

Furthermore, Alabanza noted power plants, like any other equipment, need to go through preventive maintenance procedures to ensure steady operations.