Probe of power producers ordered

Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi has ordered a probe into the possible violations that may have been committed by power producers as electricity supply in Luzon remained unstable on Friday.

“In view of the recurring yellow and red alert status announced by the system operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) the past few days, the Department of Energy (DOE) is closely looking at the possible violations by these power utilities given the current energy situation,” Cusi said in a statement.

“These debilitating power interruptions are in total violation of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira). We have already requested the Energy Regulatory Commission to investigate these persistent power outages and to take appropriate actions, pursuant to their mandate to regulate industry players. I have also instructed the DOE Power Bureau to conduct technical audits/plant inspections prioritizing those that have forced outages,” Cusi said.

Data from the NGCP showed that the Luzon grid was again placed on a red alert status from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday as both the planned and forced outages of key energy facilities have cut power supply by as much as 3,075 megawatts.

It was forecast that total power supply would hit 8,833 MW while peak demand was seen to reach 8,649 MW. Luzon was later placed on yellow alert from 6 p.m. onwards.

The system operator explained that Luzon grid was on red alert on Friday due to almost “zero operating reserves and  yellow alert due to lower level operating reserves brought about by insufficient power supply from generating plants.”

According to the NGCP, there were seven facilities that had unplanned outages, collectively reducing the available capacity by 1,225 MW. These were Calaca 2 (300 MW), Pagbilao 2 (382 MW), Malaya 1 (300 MW), South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. or SLTEC (122 MW), Makban Unit 1 (55 MW), Limay 5 (60 MW),  Lafarge (6 MW).

The planned outages had cut the supply by 1,850 MW. These were from the Ilijan Block B (600 MW), Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. or SLPGC (150 MW), Kalayaan 1 (180 MW), Kalayaan 2 (180 MW), Bacman 2 (55 MW), San Gabriel (430 MW), and Sta. Rita module 20 (255 MW).

As a result, some parts of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Metro Manila, Quezon and Rizal experienced rotating brownouts lasting two to three hours on Friday.

In North Luzon, the NGCP reported one-hour power interruptions in areas serviced by Ilocos Sur Electric Cooperative (Iseco), La Union Electric Coop (Luelco), Nueva Vizcaya Electric Coop (Nuvelco), Central Pangasinan Electric Coop (Cenpelco), Isabela I Electric Coop (Iselco I), and Cagayan II Electric Coop (Cagelco II).

In Central Luzon, power interruptions lasting one to two hours were monitored in areas covered by Pampanga Electric Cooperative (Pelco I, Pelco II, Pelco III), Peninsula Electric Coop-Balanga (Penelco-Balanga), Pampanga Rural Electric Coop (Presco), San Fernando Light and Power Co. (Sfelapco-Floridablanca), and Nueva Ecija I Electric Coop (Neeco I).

In South Luzon, two-hour power interruptions occurred in Quezon Electric Coop (Quezelco I and  Quezelco II).