Luzon grid placed  under yellow alert anew

MANILA, Philippines — A yellow alert was raised on the Luzon grid yesterday, the second time this week, due to forced out-ages of several power plants.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Luzon grid under yellow alert from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. as available capacity stood at 11,166 megawatts.

The peak demand reached 10,455 MW.

Five power plants went on forced outages, which derated the capacities of three others and resulted in the unavailability of 2,115 MW to the grid.

The NGCP lifted the yellow alert at around 1 p.m. as the generation capacity increased.

A yellow alert means paower reserves are not enough to cover the largest running generating unit at the time, but does not necessarily lead to outages.

On Monday, the NGCP placed the Luzon grid on yellow and red alerts due to the forced outages of six power plants while three others ran on derated capacities.

A red alert is placed over the grid when the supply-to-demand balance further worsens, which can lead to rotating power interruptions.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla had assured the public that there was no fuel supply constraints after the power plants went on forced outages.