The Department of Energy said over the weekend consumers in the Visayas may continue to experience rotational power outages as the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines works to normalize the transmission of supply.
“The DUs will have to manage their load given the limited capacity of substations, and accordingly supply of power, while NGCP is working on full recovery of the grid,” the DOE said in a statement Sunday.
Visayas consumers experienced up to 12-hour blackout in the past three days, and the NGCP said it was still determining the root cause of the outages. Power interruptions were experienced in Cebu, Iloilo, Antique, Capiz, Aklan and Guimaras.
“Thus, DUs may still impose rotational brownouts until full recovery of the grid. With the entry of PCPC [Palm Concepcion Power Corp.], we would have a stronger network through the generation reactive support, and the system voltage will stabilize to normal condition,” the DOE said.
NGCP said it was tirelessly working with the generation and distribution sectors to resolve the power outages. “We are cognizant of the suffering the recent spate of power interruptions have wrought on the consumers and businesses in the provinces and cities of Panay island,” it said.
“While we have assessed our system for possible malfunctions, and confirmed that our protocols are working as intended, we are also exploring the possibility that adjustments need to be made along the supply chain to stabilize power in Panay,” it said.
“In this regard, we are working with our counterparts in the generation and distribution sectors to implement the needed adjustments on our respective protection settings, and resolve the issue soonest,” it said.
The Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. said it was monitoring the power situation in the Visayas after the NGCP reported system disturbances in the grid. “Philreca wishes to emphasize that the situations that caused power interruptions are beyond the ECs’ control, but rest assured that our ECs are closely coordinating with NGCP for the restoration of electricity,” the group said.
Meanwhile, Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corp. agreed to simultaneously operate its three power plants to avert the 20-hour rotational brownout in the province, National Electric Administration administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda said over the weekend.
Almeda met with OMCPC owner Luis Manuel Banzon to discuss how the power situation in Occidental Mindoro could be addressed. “I want to reassure that our President and our government, both at the national and the local level have been tirelessly working to solve the power crisis,” he said.
Almeda said OMCPC agreed to run all its power plants with a total of 30 megawatts of capacity to cover Occidental Mindoro’s peaking demand. “Based on our calculations, once the plants of OMCPC are running, the brownouts will significantly be lessened, or will eventually end,” Almeda said.
Almeda, together with Occidental Mindoro Rep. Leody Tarriela and Governor Eduardo Gadiano visited OMCPC, and led the switching on of the OMCPC power plants on Saturday.