Luzon grid returns to normal after days of power alerts

MANILA, Philippines — The Luzon grid returned to normal conditions Saturday morning, May 16, after several days of red and yellow alerts that triggered rotating brownouts in parts of Luzon and the Visayas.

Based on NGCP’s 6 a.m. data, Luzon had available capacity of 15,799 MW against demand of 12,107 MW, while the Visayas grid had 2,768 MW capacity against demand of 2,339 MW. Mindanao was also operating under normal conditions.

In a statement Saturday morning, the NGCP said the declaration of full capacity by GNPD 1, EERI 2 and EERI 3 added a combined 1,510 MW to Luzon’s supply. Together with lower weekend demand, the added capacity created a surplus that allowed power exports from Luzon to the Visayas.

The power situation was expected to remain stable through the weekend, barring an unexpected rise in demand or additional unplanned outages, the grid operator said.

The return to normal follows a volatile week for the grid. On Wednesday, May 13, NGCP raised red and yellow alerts over the Luzon grid after several power plants went on forced outage or ran on derated capacity, while the tripping of transmission lines also affected supply.

By Thursday, May 14, both the Luzon and Visayas grids were again placed under red and yellow alerts, with Reuters reporting possible power cuts of up to seven hours in 32 Visayas areas and hour-long outages in nine Luzon areas, including Metro Manila.

This strain persisted Friday, May 15, when the two main island groups remained under the same alert levels due to forced outages of several power plants and higher demand during the hot dry season.

Energy analysts said the outages point to a deeper problem in the system: too much of the grid still depends on a small number of large power plants, shared fuel facilities and critical transmission corridors. — reports from John Marwin Elao