Visayas grid on yellow alert again
THE Visayas grid was placed on yellow alert once more on Thursday, with the region’s power supply remaining under pressure in the face of surging demand due to the hot weather, with a number of power plants still offline.
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said the yellow alert for the Visayas was in effect between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Thursday.
A yellow alert is issued when supply margins are insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.
During the period, available capacity stood at 2,670 megawatts (MW) against peak demand of 2,479 MW.
Remaining on forced outage were 19 power plants, with 14 plants derailed. Overall, 867 MW was unavailable to the grid.
NGCP said the unavailability of large coal-fired power plants in the Visayas and high forecasted power demand triggered the yellow alert.
This year, the grid operator has issued a total of 15 yellow alerts and six red alerts in Luzon and the Visayas.
Mark Anthony Ynoc, former president of Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, called the consecutive yellow alerts in the Visayas deeply concerning.
“These incidents reflect the need for stronger long-term energy planning, more aggressive investment in power generation, and improvements in transmission infrastructure,” Mr. Ynoc said in a statement on Thursday.
“Reliable and affordable power is critical to sustaining economic growth and business confidence in the region,” he added.
Mr. Ynoc said higher power rates and recurring outages affect productivity, increase the cost of consumer goods and disrupt operations.
“These challenges ultimately weaken the competitiveness of businesses in Cebu and the Visayas,” he said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
