Luzon grid on yellow alert over low power reserves

MANILA, Philippines — The Luzon grid was placed under yellow alert from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. yesterday due to the shutdown and limited output of some power plants.

A yellow alert means there are not enough reserves to cover the largest running generating unit, but it does not necessarily lead to power outages.

The Department of Energy (DOE) said it is accelerating efforts to restore lost power capacities, which reached 1,364 megawatts (MW).

The Pagbilao Unit 2 (382 MW), San Lorenzo Unit 1 (250 MW) and Limay B6 (70 MW) were on planned outage while GNPower Unit 1 (302 MW) and Kalayaan Units 3 and 4 (360 MW) unexepectedly shut down yesterday.

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) stressed the need to add more capacity in the Luzon grid after yellow alerts have been raised since Aug. 30.

Meralco also cited increased demand in its franchise area.

A yellow alert status usually triggers Meralco’s automatic load dropping scheme, resulting in power interruptions to help the grid recover from generation outages.

The DOE said reduced supply could also be expected this weekend due to gas restriction from the Malampaya plant.

“We are in close coordination with our stakeholders to normalize the power situation in the Luzon grid. We also appeal to our consumers to use energy wisely and assist in stabilizing the energy situation,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said.