Power generation closely monitored amid extreme heat

CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) is closely monitoring and coordinating with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and all generation companies during this period of extreme heat, when electricity usage is at a record high.

Power supply conditions have remained tight since Tuesday, April 16, and even continued yesterday, resulting in the issuance of Red Alerts in the Luzon and Visayas grids.

The situation could have been worse, which was why the DOE, in a statement, thanked all stakeholders in the power sector “for their continuing cooperation in minimizing or avoiding power interruptions despite the Red Alerts”.

DOE said the “Interruptible Load Program” adopted by distribution utilities, like the Visayan Electric (VECO), also contributed significantly to this effort.

The DOE also reiterated its call for cooperation in minimizing power consumption, especially at peak hours, during the remainder of the dry season.

“As previously noted, the extremely high temperatures have been affecting the operations of power plants in the grid,” it said.

The DOE is likewise coordinating with the concerned generation companies for the return to service of power plants under forced outage, while reminding all on their compliance to the Grid Operating and Maintenance Program.

Based on the NGCP's monitoring, both the Luzon and Visayas grids reached an all-time high peak demands for the year so far. The peak demand in Luzon was recorded at 13,222 MW on April 17, at 2:48 PM, while the Visayas grid reached a peak demand of 2,525 MW at 3:34PM.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, on the other hand, recorded the highest heat index level of 44 degrees Celsius in Dagupan City, Pangasinan; Puerto Princesa City, Palawan; Aborlan, Palawan; and Catarman, Northern Samar, on April 17, 2024.

At 2:38 pm yesterday, NGCP raised the Visayas grid to Red Alert Status because 13 power plants are on forced outage while nine others are running on “derated” capacities, for a total of 696.7MWthat are unavailable to the grid.

That was why a power interruption from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. was expected yesterday.

A red alert status is issued when power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid's regulating requirement.

Quennie Bronce, Visayan Electric’s Reputation and Enhancement Department head, said that they have not implemented any rotational brownout within their franchise area, so far.

Visayan Electric is the second largest electric utility in the Philippines. It serves the Metro Cebu cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay, Naga and the municipalities Liloan, Consolacion, Minglanilla, and San Fernando. — (FREEMAN)