The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has placed the Visayas and Mindanao grids under yellow and red alert as of Thursday. This decision follows a series of plant outages alongside increasing energy demand.
Details of the Alerts
For the Visayas grid, a red alert is set from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., followed by a yellow alert from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. The peak demand is projected at 2,360 megawatts, while available capacity stands at 2,283 megawatts.
In Mindanao, yellow alerts will occur from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., and again from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The region anticipates a peak demand of 2,785 megawatts against an available capacity of 2,604 megawatts.
Causes of the Alerts
The NGCP reported that 23 power plants in the Visayas are currently on forced outages, with 13 others operating below capacity, totaling 903.2 megawatts offline. Major coal facilities like TVI Units 1 and 2 and CEDC Unit 1 remain out of service.
Mindanao faces similar challenges, with 28 plants on forced outages and 8 operating at reduced capacity, accounting for 713.7 megawatts out of service. The maintenance of GNPK 2 and the emergency shutdown of GNPK 1 due to a boiler tube leak are major contributors to the current situation.
A red alert status indicates that supply cannot meet demand, while a yellow alert signifies that reserves are below contingency requirements.
National Grid Corp. of the Philippines