Luzon power situation normalizes

MANILA, Philippines - Power situation in the Luzon grid normalized yesterday, and authorities said there would be no more rotating blackouts that had affected parts of Metro Manila on Saturday. Industry and government officials said the Luzon grid met the peak demand and recorded reserves as key power plants posted higher output.“System condition [yesterday] is normal,” said Cynthia Perez-Alabanza, spokesperson of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

The outage was due to operational troubles at the Malampaya facilities in Palawan and the unexpected shutdown of the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Sual coal-fired power plant in Pangasinan. “No brownouts,” said Energy Undersecretary Josefina Patricia Asirit, adding that the replacement of damaged parts in the Malampaya project was scheduled to be completed yesterday.

The NGCP earlier asked the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s largest power distributor, to implement a three-hour rotating power interruption from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, affecting portions of Balintawak, Sta. Mesa, Sampaloc, Novaliches and Bulacan.