'Red' alert status raised in Luzon grid as summer heat pushes up power demand

MANILA, Philippines — High power consumption from households and businesses battling extreme summer heat is threatening to outstrip available energy supply, triggering power outages in areas in the Luzon grid on Monday afternoon, the energy department announced.

The Luzon grid was put under “red alert” from 2- to 4 p.m., although the status may end earlier at 3 p.m. if the situation improves and some power plants manage to stabilize production, energy officials said in a press conference.

A red alert status means there is insufficient power supply in the grid. According to Energy Director Marion Marasigan, demand is expected to peak at 11,514 megawatts (MW) on Monday against the grid’s available capacity of 11,729-MW for the day. “That is already a concern,” Marasigan said.

To manage the supply, the following areas experienced rotational power outages from 1-2p.m. The blackouts may last for less than an hour:

• Parts of Isabela
• Quirino Province
• Olongapo City
• Parts of Quezon Province
• Parts of Camarines Sur
• Some parts of areas served by Meralco

Prior to this, the Luzon grid was placed under “yellow” alert over the weekend after some parts of the main island felt record-breaking heat index that boosted power demand as air conditioners run longer.

In the same press conference on Monday, Energy Assistant Secretary Redentor Delola said Luzon is yet to hit the projected peak load of 11,841 MW for 2021, with year-to-date demand as of Friday settling at 11,640 MW.

But Delola pointed out there's a possibility that yellow and red alerts in Luzon grid "will last for the next couple of days”, something that, if extended for longer periods, could create a problem for the government’s vaccination program. That said, Energy Spokesman Felix Fuentebella said they asked health facilities storing Covid-19 vaccines to have “triple back-up system” of generators.