Senators slammed the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for claiming the grid remained in a “normal” state before and when the massive power outage hit Panay Island and other parts of Western Visayas.

During an inquiry conducted by the Senate Committee on Energy, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian cited the claim to be “misleading” considering that the power plant of the Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) had already tripped.

“When one of the plants went down, it created a negative margin. In other words, mas mataas ‘yung demand kaysa sa supply. Officially, that will create an imbalance in the grid,” Gatchalian said.

“It’s misleading because it’s no longer in a normal state. It’s [a] deficit margin,” he added.

When asked about the claim, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said what happened can already be qualified to be in an alert or emergency state by the Philippine Grid Code.

“Emergency na siya because for an emergency state in Section 6223 of the Grid Code, it says emergency state — any of the following conditions exist: generation deficiency or operating margin is zero,” Dimalanta said.

The ERC chief also pointed out that NGCP’s claim was focusing on the grid frequency and the voltage requirements, which are just part of the six parameters to consider if the grid is in a normal state.

Clark Agustin, who heads NGCP’s Visayas System Operations, claimed to the panel that before the tripping of the PEDC power plant, the grid was in normal condition.

“Meaning, the voltages, frequency, loading levels of transmission lines, our operating margin is sufficient. So, normal,” Agustin told senators.

Even when the PEDC power plant had an unplanned outage, Agustin said the system remained stable.

“Normal po ‘yung system, stable siya. Voltages and frequency are within limits, normal limits. Loading levels, wala tayong transmission line which was overloaded,” Agustin insisted.

“Between 12:06 p.m. to 2:19 p.m., since stable nga po ‘yung grid — voltage and frequency were in normal limits within required. Wala po tayong overloaded line or tripping of lines. So, we did a normal dispatch, process, responsibility as system operations,” he added.

Senator Raffy Tulfo, who chairs the panel, was annoyed by Agustin’s statements saying NGCP should have done something when the PEDC power plant shut down.

“Panay ang banggit mo ng normal condition. Hindi na nga normal ‘yung condition. Nagkaroon na ng tripping eh. Dapat nung nakita niyo na nagkaroon ng tripping, there must be a problem and then find out what is the problem kung paano bigyan ng solusyon ‘yung problema bago lumala,” Tulfo said.

Meanwhile, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero raised the need to have the Philippine Grid Code reviewed to prevent similar incidents from happening.

Escudero cited the current situation wherein power plants can make an unscheduled shutdown if it affects only frequency but is silent about unbalance and voltage.

“These things need to be clarified so that protocols can be established to avoid similar incidents from occurring in the future,” Escudero said, adding that he has several recommendations that he will be introducing at a proper time.

Local officials from Western Visayas, who were also present during the inquiry, are seeking to make NGCP accountable by paying for their billions of economic losses during the massive power outage.

Make them pay

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, in his statement during the hearing, urged the body to hold those responsible for the massive brownout accountable, adding that no one was blamed when a similar incident happened in April 2023.

“I ask you this time, find someone who is guilty, hold them accountable, and let them pay,” Treñas, who joined the hearing virtually, said.

He said the city suffered a loss of an estimated P2 billion or an estimated P500 million a day.

“We are serious this time, and we hope, ultimately, the Senate and the House of Representatives together, to punish those who are accountable and to hold them accountable for these losses, especially in my beloved city,” he added.

Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., for his part, pleaded for an immediate solution to the problem and pushed for the perfection of the management of the grid and completion of Phase 3 of the Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone and other ancillary civil structures to strengthen the grid.

“We in Iloilo and the rest in Western Visayas are positioning to take legal recourse to vindicate the rights of our people, so they can be compensated for the damage done, and more importantly, to exert the strongest pressure so that the blackout will not happen again,” he said.

The province, he added, has suffered P3.8 billion in economic losses.

Guimaras Governor JC Rahman Nava, meanwhile, asked the committee for a review of the “swinging reserves” billed by the NGCP to consumers.

He said more than 30 to 50 percent of the monthly bill is for ancillary support services, including contingency and dispatch reserves intended to prevent incidents like outages, that are passed on to consumers.

“Paying that much monthly to guarantee incidents such as this will not happen is too much for us consumers. This should be put under review,” he said. (PNA)