Enough power supply seen by summer

MANILA, Philippines — Power supply is expected to be enough in the Luzon grid this summer despite the scheduled preventive maintenance shutdown of some power plants, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

Based on data from the DOE-Electrical Power Industry Management Bureau (EPIMB), the capacity under maintenance in Luzon during summer stands at 2,367 megawatts (MW).

These include several hydropower plants, namely Kalayaan (180 megawatts), Angat (100 MW), Ambuklao (35 MW), Magat (360 MW) and San Roque (145 MW) hydropower plants, which are normally on maintenance shutdown during the summer months.

The other plants on shutdown are the Unit 2 of Sual coal plant (647 MW), Unit 2 of Calaca coal plant (300 MW) and Block A of Ilijan natural gas plant (600 MW).

Despite the shutdown of these plants, the Luzon grid is expected to have enough supply by summer time, barring unforeseen circumstances.

“Considering the proposed adjustment of preventive maintenance schedules (PMS) of the power plants, the early restoration of power plants on unplanned outage and no further forced outages, the system operator presented that the Luzon grid will not experience weeks with red or yellow alert,” the DOE-EPIMB said.

A yellow alert means there were not enough reserves to cover the largest running generating unit at the time, but does not necessarily lead to power outages. On the other hand, a red alert status means there is insufficient power supply in the grid.

Meanwhile, the bureau said the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is revising the outlook based on the agreements on the respective preventive maintenance schedules of the power plants to check on the reserves condition during the summer period.

“The DOE will meet NGCP again to discuss other concerns on the outlook of Luzon in the coming summer period,” the agency said.

Last week, the DOE urged generating companies (gencos) to align schedules of power plant shutdowns to maintain sufficient supply in the power grid during summer months.

The DOE convened power stakeholders last Tuesday to assess the power situation in Luzon and ensure that there will be enough supply, especially during the summer months.

DOE Undersecretary Emmanuel Juaneza cited the need to have sufficient power supply and prevent power outages that inconveniences the consumers and disrupts business operations during the country’s recovery from the effects of the pandemic.

“We are constantly reminded by Secretary Cusi that we must ensure the efficient delivery of basic energy services to the people. We have to do better,” he said.

To maintain sufficient supply for the grid, DOE Assistant Secretary Redentor Delola sought gencos’ cooperation and support to arrange their schedules and to realign their maintenance activities.

“We have seen a lot of plant outages in the past few weeks and some of these have been extended toward the summer months. Considering the existing maintenance schedules of plants, we may have to realign our activities for the year to ensure the level of sufficient supply,” he said.

During the meeting, the NGCP presented a “good” power outlook for 2021 based on the agency’s forecast and submitted power plant maintenance schedules.

However, to improve the situation further, the gencos requested some adjustments on their schedules.

The DOE advised the gencos to submit a formal documentation of their requests so that the NGCP will revise the grid maintenance program.

Meanwhile, Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) assured the public that the Malaya Thermal Power Plant in Rizal – one of the contingency plants – would be ready in case it would be tapped by the NGCP.

PSALM said it would build up the required fuel inventory by next week, and, as part of preventive maintenance, heat run tests would be conducted anytime this month.