Rotating blackouts hit Metro

MANILA, Philippines — Rotating blackouts were implemented yesterday in Luzon, including in Metro Manila, as the Luzon grid was placed on a 13-hour red alert status following the shutdown of several power plants.

The Department of Energy (DOE) said the Luzon grid lost a total of 2,489 megawatts (MW) because of planned maintenance, unplanned outage and de-rated capacity of several power plants. 

Plants under unplanned outage are the 150-MW Unit 2 of San Miguel Consolidated Power Corp. (SMCPC), the 647-MW Sual Unit 1 of Team Energy and San Miguel, the 150-MW Unit 2 of Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. (SLPGC) Unit 2 of DMCI; the 420-MW Pagbilao Unit 3 of Team Energy and Aboitiz Power, and the 135-MW Unit 1 of South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. (SLTEC) Unit 1 of the Ayala Group.

DMCI’s Calaca Unit 2 is operating at a de-rated capacity of 100 MW while the combined 827 MW are from previously approved outages due to scheduled maintenance.  

Due to major generation inadequacy, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) raised a yellow alert notice on the power grid from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. to 11 p.m., and red alert from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. yesterday.

Projections showed the grid had an available capacity of 10,220 MW while peak demand was estimated to reach 10,334 MW.

A yellow alert means there are 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.

The DOE said a maximum of six percent of the load in Luzon (588 MW out of around 10,022 MW demand peak) experienced two- to three-hour power interruption yesterday. 

Starting 9 a.m., the NGCP implemented the Manual Load Dropping (MLD) – or rotational blackout – across several areas in Luzon to maintain the integrity of the power system.

Meanwhile, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) also implemented three-hour rotational blackout within its franchise area due to insufficient operating reserve in the grid.

Affected areas were portions of Bulacan, particularly Plaridel, Malolos City, San Rafael, San Ildefonso, Pandi, Norzagaray, Doña Remedios Trinidad, Angat, Paombong, Hagonoy, Calumpit, Meycauayan, Santa Maria, Marilao, Bocaue, Pulilan, Baliuag, San Jose del Monte City and Balagtas.

In Metro Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan City, Parañaque City, Pasay CIty, San Juan, Las Piñas, Valenzuela, Malabon, Navotas, Pasig City, Taguig City, Muntinlupa, Mandaluyong City, Marikina, Makati City and Manila were affected.

The nearby province of Cavite, particularly in Imus, General Trias, Dasmariñas City, Trece Martires City, Tagaytay City, Silang, Naic, Indang, Amadeo, Bacoor, Noveleta, Kawit, Cavite City, Tanza, Rosario, General Mariano Alvarez and Carmona, were also affected.

In Laguna, Cabuyao, Liliw, Magdalena, Majayjay, Nagcarlan, Rizal, San Pablo City, Bay, Calamba, Calauan, Los Baños, Pila, Sta. Cruz, Victoria, Biñan, Sta. Rosa, San Pedro and Alaminos suffered power interruptions.

Affected areas in Quezon province included Lucena City, Tayabas, Pagbilao, Candelaria, Dolores, San Antonio and  Tiaong; Batangas (Batangas City, Talisay, San Pascual, Sto. Tomas); Rizal (Taytay, Cainta, San Mateo); and Pampanga (Apalit, San Simon).

In a text message, Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said at least 1.38 million customers were affected by the MLD.

Meralco has also deloaded 234 MW from 112 accounts under its Interruptible Load Program (ILP).

In case of supply deficiency, corporations and commercial establishments participating in the ILP use their generator sets to help prevent or minimize incidents of power outage.

The DOE called for an emergency meeting with NGCP on Thursday and conducted a follow-up meeting yesterday with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the NGCP, market operator Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) and Meralco to coordinate efforts and address the situation.

The DOE, however, sees an improvement of the system due to low demand on weekends. 

It also expects more system improvements between today and Tuesday with the entry of the Sual Unit 1 of Team Energy and SLTEC Unit 1 of Ayala on Saturday, and of SMCPC Limay Unit 2 and Pagbilao Unit 3 of Team Energy and Aboitiz Power.

Improve services

Senators warned power and water utilities as well as telecommunications companies to improve their services, especially during the summer season, or face sanctions from the government.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the public services committee, issued the statement following the recent water shortage in Metro Manila, incidents of blackouts in Luzon as well as the reported spotty internet services.

The senators also pushed for the immediate passage of the bill seeking to amend the 82-year old Public Services Act to allow foreign ownership in the telecommunications and transport sectors. 

“No water, no electricity, no internet. So much Calvary. Holy Week is still next week but the forced penitence came ahead,” Poe said in Filipino.

She said the legislative franchises granted to companies and utilities contain penal provisions that can be enforced if they fail to deliver quality service to their customers.

Sen. Nancy Binay called for “a unified front for energy efficiency” to fend off the possibility of a power shortage during the May 2019 elections.

She noted that at least five power plants in Luzon reported simultaneous shutdowns on Wednesday that put the grid on red alert, with the NGCP notifying consumers of rolling blackouts.

“Maybe instead of pointing fingers, it’s more urgent to be united to get to the bottom of the issue and address it properly,” Binay said.

She said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) should guarantee that vote-counting machines have working backup power sources and stable internet.

“With automated elections already mandated by law, the lack of power and communications present considerable difficulties on the part of Comelec,” Binay said.

Rep. Carlos Roman Uybarreta of party-list 1-CARE said Malacañang could order state offices to adopt conservation measures.

“Just the simple act of ordering offices to switch off some lights during the day can have significant effect,” he said.

Rep. Mikee Romero of party-list 1-Pacman suggested the DOE should issue guidelines on how national and local government offices could save electricity.

Aside from turning off unnecessary lights, Romero said agencies and local government units could adjust the temperature of their air-conditioners. 

Romero pointed out that if the government could adopt simple energy saving measures, these could be implemented as well by private businesses and offices.

Uybarreta, vice chairman of the House of Representatives committee on energy, urged the DOE to seek an explanation from power generators on why they simultaneously did maintenance work this week, resulting in rotating blackouts.

“As I had feared and warned, we had rotating brownouts here in Metro Manila and nearby provinces on Wednesday because our electricity reserves were not enough,” he said.

Uybarreta lamented that DOE officials kept assuring the public of sufficient power supply. 

“But now we have sudden plant maintenance shutdowns. They cannot fault us for being skeptical because several plants going offline on the same day does not smell right,” he said. 

Party-list Bayan Muna earlier sought an inquiry into why several generators declared closures at the same time, recalling a similar occurrence in the latter part of 2013 that resulted in an “unprecedented” power rate increase of P4.35 per kilowatt-hour.

The Murang Kuryente Partylist (MKP) called on policymakers to intervene in the Luzon power crisis issue and stop power companies from manipulating the demand and supply situation in the energy sector. 

MKP fears that a lot of power companies will use the power shortage being felt across the region as an excuse to push for their multibillion coal power plant projects.

“But with regard to this so-called Luzon power crisis, we believe there is no need for immediate setting up of new power plants. The situation should prompt policymakers to look at amending the law as this only shows that we are at the mercy of the whims and manipulation of the power companies involved in the unplanned power outages,” MKP’s Gerry Arances said.

The MKP is also pushing for the development of more renewable energy sources in the country. – With Paolo Romero, Jess Diaz