Luzon power supply returns to normal

MANILA, Philippines – Luzon’s power supply returned to normal following the rotating brownouts that hit parts of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) franchise in Metro Manila and nearby provinces over the weekend.

At 6 am on Tuesday, July 15, system capacity for Luzon was at 8,746 megawatts (MW); system peak at 8,070 MW; and reserves at 676 MW, according to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

On Monday, the yellow alert was raised in the region from 11 am to 4 pm due to the shutdown of several plants, Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said, citing NGCP data.

A yellow alert occurs when power reserves dwindle and fall below the ideal buffer of 647 megawatts (MW), the capacity of the largest running power generating unit. When a yellow alert turns red, power outages will occur.

Reserves were only at 226 MW at noon Monday and 444 MW in the afternoon, Zaldarriaga said.

On July 12, 3-hour rotating brownouts affected nearly half a million people in the Meralco franchise area.

“There was limited capability from Sual and GN Power 2,” Zaldarriaga said.

On Monday, one unit of the 1,200 MW Ilijan natural gas plant produced only 550 MW, instead of 600 MW. Pagbilao 1 produced only 120 MW, instead of 328 MW, and GN Power 2 produced only 100 MW, instead of 302 MW.

NGCP will also release an advisory regarding Typhoon Glenda (international codename: Rammasun) within the day.

Averting a power crisis

Declaring a “power crisis” following the brownouts over the weekend is under study, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said.

But the supply and demand scenario must be determined first before making any recommendation, Petilla said. 

A landmark policy requiring all power distributors to declare their 5-year power requirements and have these bid out is also under study, as this could help ensure a stable and reliable power supply, Petilla said.

The long-term solution to address the lack of supply and power reserves can be done by auctioning off the projected power requirements of distribution utilities (DUs) for a maximum of 5 years, Petilla explained.

But first, the DUs must be compelled to disclose their requirements so the DOE would have an idea of their contracting strategy, Petilla said.

“We will assist in every way we can. We need them to show their demand, say for 2015. Once they released that then we can bid out their requirements …. We need to secure their requirements today and not when their contracts expire,” Petilla said.

DUs and electric cooperatives source power from bilateral contracts. At times, they also purchase power from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

The proposal would also benefit power producers that had built new power plants but have yet to secure off-takers, Petilla said.

“The operators of the power plants need to look for buyers of the power that will be produced from their new facilities to ensure them return of investment. If we require the DUs to contract their requirements over a long period, then the owners of these new power plants will be assured of off-takers,” Petilla explained.

He said a department circular is enough to implement his proposal but Petilla prefers Congress to pass a law on this. “There will be a circular but I prefer legislation. We will come up with a policy which can be strengthened if we pass a law.”

Petilla stressed that he is pushing for this “in the hopes that everybody gets the best price” and “for transparency purposes as well.”

“The bottom line here is that we need to stop looking at short-term solutions and instead look at long-term ones,” he added.

Earlier, the Energy Regulatory Commission said it was already drafting rules for a plan to compel all DUs to bid out their power requirements.

But the country’s largest utility firm, Meralco, is not so keen on this, saying the bidding process could lead to delays. As a result, brownouts could still happen. – Rappler.com