The unplanned outages of power-generating units in Panay on Jan. 2 have led to the ongoing brownouts on the island, isolating it from the rest of the Visayas grid, the Energy Regulatory Commission said Wednesday.
Consumers of Guimaras Electric Cooperative Inc. (GUIMELCO), Iloilo I Electric Cooperative Inc. (ILECO I), Iloilo II Electric Cooperative Inc. (ILECO II), Iloilo III Electric Cooperative Inc. (ILECO III), and MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) are currently experiencing power interruptions.
ERC already requested additional data from grid operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) and the concerned generation companies to assist in the review of the outage incidents.
“The ERC understands the inconvenience this situation has caused to the consumers of Panay, and we assure the public that every effort is being made to restore power as quickly as possible,” ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said.
NGCP, for its part, renewed its call for a whole-of-industry approach, including better energy resource planning, following the power outage due to the tripping of multiple power plants.
“The unscheduled maintenance shutdowns of the largest power plants in Panay island were the primary cause of the power interruption. We emphasize the need for improved planning to ensure sufficient generation per island, with a well-balanced mix of fuels and technology,” NGCP said.
NGCP said three of the largest power-generating units were among those that suffered multiple trippings on Jan. 2 — Panay Energy Development Corp. Unit 1 and 2 (83 megawatts each), and Palm Concepcion Power Corp. (135MW).
Along with the planned maintenance shutdown of PEDC Unit 3 (150MW), at least 68.75 percent or 451MW of the total 656MW in-island generation was lost in the Panay sub-grid.
NGCP said the grid needs about 300MW to stabilize the system.
“We will be restoring loads conservatively, by matching loads to restored generation, to prevent repeated voltage failure. NGCP is ready to transmit power once it is available. The people must understand that we can only transmit power, we do not generate power,” the company said.
“NGCP also strongly recommends the review of the Philippine Grid Code to cater to renewable energy sources, particularly the effective use of emerging technologies such as energy storage systems, among others,” it added.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, in a Facebook post, called on lawmakers to probe the brownouts as he asked the NGCP to “provide regular updates to the public regarding the situation.”
“I am calling on our congressmen to initiate a congressional investigation on the incident… In the same way, I call on the Senate to do the same,” he said.
Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne Baronda also called on her colleagues to investigate the power outages.
Baronda noted that she and other Western Visayas lawmakers also pushed for a House inquiry in May 2023 on the unscheduled and intermittent blackouts in the region back then.
“And yet this new incident took place, distressing the Ilonggos. It seems that those responsible and accountable have yet to learn their lesson,” she said.
For his part, Senator Jinggoy Estrada said the severity of the power shortage in Panay Island cannot be overstated.
“This issue needs to be resolved immediately and efficiently,” Estrada said.