Critical period starts for Luzon power situation

SMOOTH power plant operations and some rainshowers to break the summer heat have helped keep brownouts or power outages at bay in Luzon, but energy officials have not completely ruled out the possibility of short-term outages.

Experts said the possibility increases post-Holy Week until April 14 as electricity demand is expected to climb with the rising temperature.

“So far, so good. But we are updating our outlook in four-week periods moving forward and we will see after Holy Week how we will fare,” Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said.

National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) vice chair Ernesto Pantangco said in an energy forum that the critical period from March 15 to April 14 was still under close watch.

“For the past weeks, the temperature increase was not as high as we thought and demand has not been as high as we expected. Hopefully this weather continues. We will see after Holy Week how we will fare,” Pantangco said.

Citing reports from energy stakeholders, Pantangco said that demand from the middle of March onward averaged 7,700 megawatts (MW), which was much lower than the expected 8,600MW.

After Holy Week, the next critical period will be in May when demand is estimated to peak at 9,400 MW.

“Normally that happens around the third week of May,” Pantangco said.

Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Executive Director Francis Saturnino Juan said it was also possible for power rates to increase due to the fuel shift of gas plants during the temporary shutdown of the Malampaya gas platform from March 14 to April 15.