Power grid operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said it recognizes the need for ancillary services for frequency regulation and maintaining balance in the grid amid the ongoing red and yellow alerts.
Reserves, commonly referred to as AS, are services needed to maintain balance in the power system to ensure normal frequency and voltage levels in response to demand changes, variability of renewable energy, and possible loss of a large generating unit.
AS are necessary to support the transmission of capacity and energy from resources to loads while maintaining reliable grid operation.
NGCP, as the power system operator, is responsible for determining, acquiring, and dispatching the needed AS levels.
“We need ancillary services…The fluctuation in the use of electricity, NGCP has to address that so we won’t feel the up and down. That’s the first level of ancillary services, the frequency regulation. It’s more driven by load fluctuations throughout the day,” NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Perez-Alabanza said.
She said that when coming from a low load, office buildings and malls simultaneously open airconditioners and other equipment at 8am.
Alabanza said 2 p.m. is another peak due to high temperatures, thus when there is a spike in demand there is also power fluctuation.
She said another peak occurs during the evening which the company looks out for.
“That’s the first level of ancillary service, the frequency regulation. It’s more driven by load fluctuations throughout the day,” the official said. Alena Mae S. Flores
Alabanza said that over and under frequency has an effect on appliances and equipment. “Meeting the requirement for regulating ancillary is just as important as meeting the requirement for consumption,” she said.
Alabanza said the other ancillary services—contingency and dispatchable—are also needed by the grid.
“You need that as a contingency if a power plant goes out. It’s a requirement driven by a possible unplanned maintenance shutdown of a power plant. So, we’re required to have that, but only equivalent to the largest plant online,” she said.
NGCP previously solicited proposals for the supply of AS to maintain power quality and the reliability and security of the nationwide grid, but some of these contracts are still pending Energy Regulatory Commission approval. Alena Mae S. Flores
