Red alerts sa Luzon grid, posible matapos ang May 9 polls- DOE

MALAKI ang posibilidad na itaas ang red alerts sa Luzon power grid, na maging dahilan ng rotational power interruptions, sa susunod na dalawang linggo kasunod ng May 9, 2022 elections.

Sa virtual press briefing, sinabi ni DOE Power Industry Management Bureau Director Mario Marasigan, “considering historical data on forced or unplanned power plant outages”, ang pagtaas sa red alert ay posible sa mga linggo ng May 16 at May 23, matapos ang elections period.

“We can show you that there are no potential yellow alerts or red alerts for the entire year. However, in consideration of historical events, forced or unscheduled plant outages happen. In our assessment, we used the average data in the last three years,” ayon kay Marasigan.

“We may raise a red alert after the elections, so that will not cover the day itself, particularly the week of May.  We’ll not have a problem with that. But immediately the week after that, we may have a red and yellow alert. So with that, we have potential two red alerts and four yellow alerts for the entire year,” dagdag na pahayag nito.

Ang red alert status ay ipinalalabas kapag ang supplies ay hindi sapat para ma- meet ang consumer demand at regulating requirement ng transmission grid.

Sa ilalim nng red alert, ang grid operator ng National Grid Corporation of the Philippines ay maaaring magpatupad ng manual load dropping o rotating brownouts para mapanatili ang grid’s integrity.

Ang yellow alert, sa kabilang dako, ay ipinalalabas kapag ang excess power ay hindi sapat para ma-meet ang regulating at contingency requirement ng transmission grid, na sinasabing 495 megawatts (MW) at 647MW, “respectively.”

Sa kabila ng posibleng rotating brownouts, sinabi ni Marasigan na naghahanda na ang DOE ng solusyon na tutugon sa sinasabing potential untoward power situation.

Aniya pa, “the Luzon grid can tap the GN Power Dinginin 2 power plant’s 400 MW capacity which can be plugged into the power system during its testing and commissioning by April.”

Ang isa pang solusyon ay ang bagong SMC Mariveles Coal-Fired Power Plant, na inaasahan na makapagdaragdag ng 100-MW ng lakas sa grid.

“Another solution that we are seeing is the optimization of the Luzon-Visayas Interconnection, where up to 350 MW can be available. But of course, it would still depend on how the market develops,” ang pahayag ni Marasigan.

Para sa Visayas, sinabi ni Marasigan na maaaring itaas ang yellow alerts sa grid dahil sa 112MW ng potential forced outages.

Gayunpaman, maaari itong maiwasan sa pamamagitan ng availability ng high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system.

Samantala, sinabi ni Marasigan, na ang Mindanao ay mayroong “most reliable grid” dahil sa mayroon itong kapasidad na punan ang potential 90-MW of forced outages.

Nauna rito, tiniyak ng DOE sa publiko na walang “inadvertent power issues” sa panahon ng dry season na nagkataon naman sa nakapaloob sa May 9, 2022 elections period.

Nagbabala naman ang NGCP ng manipis na operating margins mula Abril hanggang Hunyo na kinabibilangan ng critical election period, bunsod ng inaasahang pagtaas ng demand. (Daris Jose)