DOE: High temperatures affecting power plant ops

THE Department of Energy (DOE) on ursday said the extremely high temperatures have been affecting the operations of power plants as the red alert was once again raised for the third consecutive day in the Luzon grid.

The red alert notice was up from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. while the yellow alerts were expected from 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., and 10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. in the Luzon grid, according to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

A red alert status is issued when the power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid’s regulating requirement while a yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.

In the Visayas grid, the NGCP issued a yellow alert status from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Based on the NGCP’S monitoring, both the Luzon and Visayas grids reached all-time-high peak demands for the year so far. The peak demand in Luzon was recorded at 13,222 megawatt (MW) last April 17, at 2:48 PM, while the Visayas grid reached a peak demand of 2,525 MW at 3:34 p.m.

Power supply conditions have remained tight since April 16, resulting in the issuance of red and yellow alerts in the Luzon grid and yellow alerts in the Visayas grid.

The DOE reiterated its call for everyone’s cooperation in minimizing power consumption especially at peak hours during the remainder of the hot season.

Heat index levels

THE Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), on the other hand, recorded the highest heat index level of 44 degrees Celsius in Dagupan City, Pangasinan; Puerto Princes City, Palawan; Aborlan, Palawan; and Catarman, Northern Samar, on April 17, 2024.

Thursday’s forecast predicted Luzon and Visayas with high heat indexes ranging from 42 degrees to 45 degrees, with areas affected including Aborlan, Palawan at 45 degrees, Dagupan City, Pangasinan at 44 degrees, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan at 44 degrees, and Catarman, Northern Samar at 44 degrees.

The does aid it continues to closely monitor and coordinate with NGCP and all generation companies during this period of extreme heat where electricity usage is at a record high.

The agency recognized the cooperation of all stakeholders in the power sector for minimizing power interruptions despite the red alerts. e Interruptible Load Program (ILP) of the distribution utilities (DUS) also contributed significantly to this effort.

In the franchise area of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), the ILP participants made up of large private users with their own generating units contributed around 300MW.

Meanwhile, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said it is still collating information from power plant operators, whose facilities were on shutdown, for a proper evaluation.

“Investigation is done in a matter of course, but whether we will formalize it in proceedings that will result in penalties will depend on the initial evaluation after we collate information,” said ERC Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta.

The ERC, in a 2020 resolution, had set the maximum days of planned and unplanned outages per year and per generating plant technology.