We cannot allow Panay’s experience to become a symbol of neglect but rather a national call to action
Recently, the blackout that struck Western Visayas, particularly in the Panay Island, captured national attention with no less than the President blaming the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines for their “failure to act.”
The entire population of businesses and consumers in the region suffered substantial economic losses.
The President said, “Stability involves proactive responses to breakdowns and unexpected events, a duty that NGCP unfortunately has not fulfilled adequately,” referring to the NGCP’s failure to act to avoid the widespread power outage during the two-hour window wherein mitigation measures could have been implemented.
As we witness our legislators attempting to dissect the issue, it becomes clear the blackout’s impact reaches far beyond mere inconveniences.
It laid bare the inefficiencies in the country’s energy system.
This incident exposed a vulnerability – a glaring disparity in electricity stability and reliability between Metro Manila and other regions.
There’s an ongoing blame game and finger-pointing among involved energy players.
It’s difficult to speculate on the root cause of the blackout as this matter is being investigated in the Congress and Senate where the NGCP and power plants have been in the hot seat.
However, the situation leaves the rest of us wondering if systems and processes could have been in place to avoid such a major disruption.
Is the lack of similar safeguards during the Panay incident just a symptom of a larger problem?
In Metro Manila and many neighboring areas, blackouts are a thing of the past.
This is not a stroke of good luck but the result of a well-built infrastructure system as well as efficient processes of distribution utilities that have been operationalized to anticipate power plant breakdowns.
Would protocols like Automatic Load Dropping (ALD) or Manual Load Dropping (MLD) have mitigated the Panay blackout?
For the unfamiliar, ALD and MLD are methods used in power systems to manage and balance the demand and supply of electricity, especially during emergencies or situations where the demand exceeds the available supply.
There are actually best practices that could have been activated.
For instance, Meralco, the distribution utility of Metro Manila and the country’s most economically productive areas, has employed MLD in the past whenever there has been an insufficient power reserve.
This triggers rotating power interruptions—ensuring that none of its customers experience a total lack of electricity, thus lessening the inconveniences and minimizing economic disruption.
Why wasn’t this done in Panay?
This was raised during the legislative hearings.
In addition, the Department of Energy and Meralco have actively invited corporations and commercial establishments to enroll in the Interruptible Load Program or ILP to manage electricity.
In case of supply deficiency, those participating in the ILP use their generators to prevent or minimize power outages.
The bottom line is that systems can run efficiently. Protocols are available.
It is also crucial to invest in infrastructure and system upgrades to complement programs and protocols. As an example, Meralco has started to implement the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), designed to help electricity providers have better capabilities for energy management.
The AMI system also helps in detecting possible outages and disturbances, which in turn improves service reliability and minimizes significant interruptions.
The lights-out incident in Panay imparts hard lessons strategically critical in sustaining a high velocity of sustainable and inclusive growth in this highly digital and electricity driven world.
If there’s a silver lining to all of this, it’s that the dark days of Western Visayas illuminated a crisis at a level of national security – but we can still turn things around.
For starters, the stable and reliable power services that sustain the prosperity of the megapolis can be a replicable model for the rest of the country.
All regions should have proactive crisis mitigation protocols working in synergy with power generation, transmission and efficient distribution utilities equipped with effective measures to ensure a consistent energy supply to its customers.
We cannot allow Panay’s experience to become a symbol of neglect but rather a national call to action to prioritize energy stability and reliability.
That’s what our economy needs.
That’s what Filipinos rightfully deserve.