Longer 'red' alert for Luzon grid as power supply remains insufficient

MANILA, Philippines (Update 1, 11:37 a.m.) — Power outages are expected in several areas in the Luzon grid  for the second straight day on Tuesday, with demand for electricity seen exceeding available supply for the day amid warmer temperatures.

A “Yellow” alert is raised in the grid from 9am-10 am, 5pm-6pm and 10pm-12am, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said in an advisory. The status will be raised to “Red” from 10am-5pm and 6pm-10pm, the NGCP added.

Both alerts mean there’s insufficient power supply in the grid to meet an expected increase in demand. The NGCP sees power demand peaking at 11,593 megawatts on Tuesday, outstripping the 11,408 MW available capacity for the day.

To stabilize the supply, blackouts will be experienced in some areas in the grid at a time many people are working from home and battling intense summer heat. The power outages could also hit health facilities storing COVID-19 vaccines in freezers.

From 11am-12pm, the following areas will experience rotational blackouts: 

• Parts of Isabela
• Parts of Nueva Ecija
• San Jose City, Nueva Ecija
• Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija
• Parts of Camarines Sur
• Parts of Metro Manila 

Meanwhile, Meralco, the country’s largest power distributor, said the yellow and red alerts will affect its customers in Cavite, Bulacan, Metro Manila and Laguna.

As it is, the Luzon grid will be under red alert status for longer hours on Tuesday compared to the previous day, when the alert only lasted a few hours. “The longer hours are due to the additional (plant) outages today,” the energy department said in a message to reporters. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral