(Photo courtesy of NGCP Facebook page)
MANILA – The Department of Energy (DOE) said the Luzon grid is back to normal on Thursday, after three consecutive days of being under a red alert status.
“As of 9 a.m., the Luzon grid is in normal system condition. There are currently enough power supply reserves to accommodate the projected demand, which has significantly decreased due to adverse weather conditions,” the agency said in a statement.
No rotational brownouts are expected to happen within the day, it added.
According to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), available supply on Thursday has increased to 11,601 megawatts (MW) from the previous day’s supply of 10,746 MW.
Power demand on Thursday is also lower at 10,331 MW from Wednesday’s 10,505 MW requirement.
“Our supply is more than sufficient to meet the projected demand today. And I apologize for the last (three) days of rotational brownouts,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a Palace briefing.
He added that the reduced power supply in the past days was due to the unplanned outages of four major power plants.
On Thursday, some 2,017 MW were shed from the system, Cusi said.
Cusi said the DOE, along with the Energy Regulatory Commission and the Philippine Competition Commission, will look into allegations of collusion among energy firms due to simultaneous outages, despite a circular prohibiting preventive maintenance of power plants in April, May, June when electricity demand reaches its peak. (PNA)
