DOE, industry players to deploy measures for power sufficiency

The Energy Department said industry players have vowed the continued management of plant maintenance schedules, optimization of existing hydroelectric power plants, upgrading of electricity facilities, preparation of available generator sets for any untoward outages, participation of big establishments in the Interruptible Load Program (ILP), and the continued call for efficient energy use. (File Photo by John Christian Fjellestad/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

MANILA — The Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday assured the public that measures are being jointly undertaken with power industry players to ensure sufficient electricity supply this summer in light of shrinking reserves, especially during peak consumption hours.

This, after the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) declared a Yellow Alert in the Luzon Grid from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. due to high projected system demand. A Yellow Alert means low power reserves.

Some generators also registered outages and these are the South Luzon Power Generation Corporation (SLPGC) Unit 2 in Calaca, Batangas due to vibration in primary air fan, the Pagbilao Unit 3 in Quezon province due to boiler slagging, South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation (SLTEC) Unit 1 in Calaca, Batangas due to boiler tube leak, and Tiwi Unit 1 in Albay due to maintenance outage.

There were also derated power plants during the day and these are the Malaya Unit 1 in Rizal province due to isolation of high-pressure heater and the Calaca Unit in Batangas due to half condenser operation.

Malaya’s installed capacity is 300 megawatt (MW) but its declared capacity during the day was only 150MW. Calaca U2’s capacity is also a 300MW plant but its declared capacity dove to 200MW.

The Energy Department said industry players have vowed the continued management of plant maintenance schedules, optimization of existing hydroelectric power plants, upgrading of electricity facilities, preparation of available generator sets for any untoward outages, participation of big establishments in the Interruptible Load Program (ILP), and the continued call for efficient energy use.

“The DOE, through its Energy Utilization Management Bureau (EUMB), reiterates the importance of its SAVE, SAVE, SAVE energy efficiency campaign, not only to incur more savings but also to ensure uninterrupted electricity services this summer season,” it added.