NGCP Issues Yellow, Red Alerts for Luzon, Visayas Grids

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines announced yellow and red alerts for the Luzon and Visayas grids on Friday, May 15, signaling potential rotating power interruptions amid a widening supply deficit driven by high demand and multiple plant outages.

In Luzon, yellow alerts will be in effect from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 11 p.m., with a red alert from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Peak demand is projected at 13,881 megawatts, exceeding available capacity of 13,508 megawatts. Visayas faces yellow alerts from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., and a red alert from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., with demand reaching 2,661 megawatts against 2,441 megawatts available. A red alert indicates insufficient supply to meet consumer demand and grid regulating requirements, often leading to manual load dropping for stability. Yellow alerts mean operating margins fall short of contingency needs but typically avoid interruptions.

The shortages stem from forced outages and derated capacities across numerous plants. In Luzon, around 4,160 megawatts remain unavailable, with about 30 plants offline and 14 others at reduced output. Visayas reports 841 megawatts unavailable, from 21 plants out and 11...