The Department of Energy (DOE) has urged government agencies and the public to implement energy conservation practices in their respective offices and households as the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) raised the yellow alert status in the Visayas.
NGCP initially reported that the Luzon grid’s available capacity stands at 13,537 megawatts (MW), while the anticipated peak demand is 13,024 MW, resulting in a narrow margin of 513 MW, while the Visayas grid had a total capacity of 2,742 MW, but with a projected peak demand of 2,440 MW, leaving only 302 MW as reserve capacity.
Engineer Kelvin Ed Dajao of DOE-Visayas Field Office Cebu said that the extreme heat and rising temperature affected the power plant facilities, which resulted in the red alert status on April 16 in Manila and a yellow status for Cebu.
He also added that there has been damage to several power plant facilities in Luzon as well as in Cebu that contributed to these alerts.
A red alert status indicates a critical situation where the power supply is inadequate to meet consumer demand and the grid’s regulating requirements.
Meanwhile, a yellow alert signifies that the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement but does not necessarily lead to power outage.
These alerts are important for managing and maintaining the integrity of the electrical grid and ensuring a reliable power supply to consumers.
“In red alert status, power supply companies are forced to implement outages because they cannot keep up with the demand. Rotational brownouts are done to maintain the power system as experienced in Luzon. This is what they call manual load dropping. As for the Visayas, our power supply is also thinning, so on April 16, we were also placed on yellow alert,” said Dajao.
Based on the data presented by DOE, the consumer demand for electricity has also increased in 2024 compared to 2023.
“With the transitioning from work from home setup to going back to the offices and the full blast opening of establishments especially malls, there’s an increase in the demand for electricity,” Dajao added.
He reminded everyone to practice power conservation, especially in the coming days.
“Just by turning off the lights during office breaks, especially at lunchtime, and setting the air conditioner at 24 degrees or just enough to cool the room is already a big help. Even in your homes, like switching off the TV or turning the lights off when no one is using. Let us practice power conservation, especially during the peak hours,” said Dajao.
Peak hours typically are from Mondays to Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., while off-peak hours are from 9:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. mostly on Sundays.
The DOE is also conducting spot checks in government offices as part of the accelerated implementation of the Government Energy Management Program. (PIA-7)