Visayas grid on Red, Yellow Alerts on September 24

MANILA — The Visayas grid will be on Red and Yellow Alerts on Thursday, September 24. 

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said the schedule is as follows: 

Red Alert
4:00 PM- 9:00 PM 

Yellow Alert
2:00 PM- 4:00 PM
9:00 PM- 10:00 PM 

The NGCP said available grid capacity is at 2,292 MW, but peak demand is expected to reach 2,495 MW.  

The agency said three of Visayas’ large coal plants, Thermo Visayas 1, Panay Energy Development Corporation 3, and KEPCO SPC 2, are out. 

There are also no power imports from Luzon because the Tabango-Kananga 230kV Line 2 is under an emergency shutdown for repairs to defective equipment.

The NGCP said 17 plants have been out since September, while 3 have been out since August. Two have been out since June, and six since May.

A lawmaker has called on the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to probe ongoing power deficits in the Visayas and Mindanao. 

The ERC has ordered the retroactive implementation of the secondary price cap in the Visayas and Mindanao spot market, after spot market prices in the Visayas and Mindanao jumped to record levels due to the shutdown of many power plants in the regions.