Visayas: Two generating units of major coal-fired power plants remain in forced outage, prompting the continued red alert in the Visayas grid from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday. A yellow alert is also in effect from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
According to Philippines News Agency, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said Unit 1 of Therma Visayas, Inc. (TVI) and Unit 3 of Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) remain unavailable. It estimated total grid capacity at 2,536 megawatts (MW) and projected peak demand to reach 2,538 MW.
Aside from TVI 1 and PEDC 3, six other power plants are unavailable this September alone, while 21 others have been unavailable since 2021, the NGCP said. Fifteen power plants are also operating at derated capacities, resulting in a total loss of about 774.2 MW.
Energy officials said Tuesday that measures are in place to help address the capacity issues in the Visayas grid, primarily the immediate resumption of operations of the generating units of major coal-fired power plants, as well as tapping battery facilities that will store capacity to be used during peak hours. The Visayas grid has consistently been on yellow and red alerts since May, as supply remains below the level needed to meet contingency and regulating requirements.
