Rising electricity demand as a result of soaring temperatures is testing the limits of the country’s power generating plants. With the contribution of the hydro-electric plants to the power supply mix almost negligible during the dry season, other facilities running on coal, geothermal, natural gas and renewable sources of energy are being relied on more frequently to meet the increased electricity demand.
The reduced contribution from hydro-electric dams and oil-based plants, however, has trimmed the power reserve level and made the Luzon grid vulnerable to a breakdown of just one major operating station. Customers of Manila Electric Co. on Monday got a glimpse of how a thin power reserve could easily disrupt electricity supply.
Meralco customers suffered a 15-minute rotating blackout Monday, after 2,196 megawatts of power capacity in the Luzon grid went offline amid soaring temperature.
One coal-fired power plant in Sual, Pangasinan tripped, resulting in a loss of 647 megawatts of supply to the Luzon grid. The breakdown prompted Meralco to declare briefly a “yellow alert” on the power supply situation. A yellow alert means the grid had a limited or thin reserve power, explains Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada.
The shutdown of the Sual plant occurred when more than 861 MW of capacity were on scheduled planned outage, while other stations went on unplanned shutdown.
Luzon, according to authorities, had a forecasted demand of 9,179 megawatts amid high temperature, although the actual demand reached only 8,808 MW, while available capacity stood at 9,885 MW. In all, Luzon had a mere contingency reserve of just 647 MW when the Sual plant conked out.
The power situation in Luzon is no different in the Visayas and Mindanao, where frequent brownouts occur. But the government could have prevented, or at least minimized, the power outages had it been closely monitoring the demand-supply-reserve outlook on a daily basis.
Energy management under the current administration, as in other services, is inefficient and does not fit the demands of an expanding economy.