Greenpeace blames fossil fuel dependence for yellow, red alerts

MANILA, Philippines — Environmental group Greenpeace Philippines yesterday blamed the country’s dependence on fossil fuel-based power plants on the continued yellow and red alerts of Luzon and Visayas power grids.

Greenpeace Philippines campaigner Khevin Yu said that the Department of Energy (DOE) has warned that these alerts will continue until the peak of the dry season in May.

“Our dependence on fossil fuel-based power plants is exposing Filipinos to their unreliability as well as leading to higher prices of electricity. Forced shutdowns of coal power plants are inevitable in April and May and we can expect such to happen more frequently as the effects of climate change continue to worsen,” he said.

Yesterday, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines placed the Luzon grid under yellow alert from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The yellow alert was also implemented in the Visayas from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“All of these are happening during one of the worst El Niño events we’ve ever experienced. Our ongoing reliance on fossil fuels and the government’s plans to expand it further by using fossil gas are clearly counterintuitive,” Yu said.

He noted that while the DOE said the country is expecting new installed capacity within the year, most are fossil gas power plants that will present similar challenges and aggravate the climate impacts Filipinos have been enduring for years.