Visayas: The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Visayas grid under yellow alert from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday due to forced outages of several power plants and higher electricity demand.
According to Philippines News Agency, NGCP reported that Units 1 and 2 of AboitizPower Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI), each with a capacity of 169 megawatts (MW), are on forced outage, alongside Unit 3 of Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC), which has a capacity of 150 MW. The available capacity in the Visayas grid during the day was 2,684 MW, with peak demand reaching approximately 2,512 MW. A yellow alert indicates that the operating margin is insufficient to meet the grid's contingency requirement.
NGCP highlighted that the outages at the TVI and PEDC generating units have significantly reduced the grid's capacity. The grid had already been impacted by the forced outage of 20 power generating units, some of which have been offline since 2021. Additionally, nine other power generating units in the Visayas are functioning at derated capacities, resulting in a total unavailable capacity of 833 MW.
Despite these challenges, the Department of Energy (DOE) assured consumers that it is actively monitoring the situation and coordinating with generation companies, system operators, and other stakeholders to facilitate the immediate restoration of affected units, maintain grid reliability, and minimize further disruptions. In a statement, the DOE mentioned that Energy Secretary Sharon Garin directed TVI and PEDC to "immediately undertake the restoration of the affected power plants."
Garin also instructed the DOE Visayas Field Office to inspect the three power plants currently on forced outage and to coordinate with the concerned generation companies to ensure measures are taken to bring the units back online safely and promptly. The NGCP, generation companies, and system operators have been directed to expedite the return of the affected units, stabilize available power supply, and prevent prolonged disruptions for consumers.
