The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is determining if penalties are warranted of power companies that remain on outage, consequently thinning power reserves in both the Luzon and the Visayas grids for the third day in series.
“The ERC recognizes the profound implication of the power plant outages on grid integrity and reliability. As a matter of course, we collate information and review the reports from the affected stakeholders to come up with a preliminary analysis of the cause or causes of the incidents,” said Monalisa Dimalanta, ERC chair, in a statement.
“Based on our findings, we will formalize the investigation to determine compliance or non-compliance by the relevant stakeholders and implement appropriate measures to impose penalties on any lapses and address issues that may have contributed to the adverse situation,” Dimalanta added.
The ERC said while the primary focus remains on the immediate restoration of power capacities, the regulator is also compelled to review the performance of stakeholders to ensure compliance as to reporting requirements, maintenance and technical standards, as well as the observance of allowable outage limits.
“We have directed power plant operators to submit to the Commission their estimated timelines for the resumption of their operations and we will continue to monitor their timely compliance. We are fully aware of the difficulties brought about by these power disruptions and affirm our commitment to a thorough investigation,” Dimalanta said.
Both the Luzon and Visayas grids were again under alert status as of 7 a.m. Thursday as 42 power plants were either on forced outage or de-rated, making unavailable 2,588 megawatts of power.
The yellow flag was raised over the Luzon grid Thursday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. The red flag was up from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. as 19 power plants and one other unit was de-rated, resulting in the unavailability of 1,891.3 MW across the region.
A red alert was also declared in the Visayas from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. as 13 power plant units were on forced outage and nine more were on de-rated capacities or lost capacity totaling 696.7 MW.
According to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the available capacity in Luzon was only 13,397 MW compared to a peak demand of 12,892 MW. Available capacity in the Visayas totaled only 2,410 MW against peak demand of 2,354 MW.
Nevertheless, the Department of Energy (DOE) gave assurance it is closely monitoring the situation.
“The DOE extends its thanks to all stakeholders in the power sector for their continuing cooperation in minimizing or avoiding power interruptions despite the red alerts. The Interruptible Load Program of the distribution utilities also contributed significantly to this effort,” the agency said.
The DOE reiterated its appeal for the general public to minimize power consumption specially during peak hours for the remainder of the dry months ahead.
“As previously noted, the extremely high temperatures have been affecting the operations of power plants in the grid. The DOE is likewise coordinating with the concerned generation companies for the return to service of power plants under forced outage. At the same time, all parties are reminded of their compliance with the Grid Operating and Maintenance Program,” the DOE said.
