Glenda barely improves Pantabangan Dam’s water level

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines – Typhoon Glenda has increased the water level in Pantabangan Dam by less than a meter, which was not sufficient to resume power generation by the First Gen Hydro Power Corp. (FGHPC).

Records showed the water level in Pantabangan Dam rose from 176.01 meters on Tuesday to 176.93 meters on Wednesday.

Two weeks ago, FGHPC stopped generating electricity from the dam, after the water level dropped to 177 meters, the critical level for power generation.

Josephine Salazar, operations manager of the National Irrigation Administration-Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System, said they have continued releasing water at 70 cubic meters per second, as planting season within its service area has begun. 

Salazar said a cloud seeding operation was conducted in Pantabangan reservoir last Friday and Monday to increase the water level. 

Meanwhile, Nueva Ecija has experienced four-hour power outage on Friday as part of a rotating blackout being implemented by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

Ernest Vidal, NGCP’s corporate regional communication officer, said as of 11:55 a.m. the available power capability in Luzon grid was 4,745 megawatt (MW), which is much lower than the 5,908 MW demand. 

“To allocate the available power and integrity of the entire grid, load curtailment is being implemented among distribution utility grid users,” Vidal said.