DOE orders swift repairs to restabilize Visayas grid

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Energy Secretary Sharon Garin has ordered the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), power generators and other grid operators to speed up repairs and bring affected generating units back online after red and yellow alerts were declared over the Visayas grid.

The directive came hours after alert levels had been raised again in the region, citing a drop in available system reserves following a series of equipment trips and an emergency shutdown of another large coal-fired power plant.

In a statement, the Department of Energy (DOE) said its Electric Power Industry Management Bureau is coordinating with industry stakeholders and investigating the full circumstances behind the alerts.

READ: Visayas grid red alert up, rotational brownouts expected

READ: NGCP clarifies: We can only transmit power if it’s available

The Visayas grid got a short-lived reprieve from yellow and red alerts during the first week of July following the reactivation of Unit 3 of the Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC).

A red alert indicates that available power supply has fallen below the minimum reserve requirement, while a yellow alert signals thinning reserves that could lead to instability if additional generating units or lines fail.

But last July 6, the NGCP raised a yellow alert when demand for electricity suddenly surged.

Then two days later, grid operators elevated it to red alert when the Iloilo-PEDC 138-kilovolt Line 3 tripped, isolating and forcing the shutdown of PEDC Unit 3.

READ: Red alert lifted in Visayas

PEDC Unit 3’s isolation coincided with an emergency shutdown of Palm Concepcion Power Corp. in Panay when hissing sounds had been reported in its boiler, according to NGCP’s earlier advisories.

The outage reduced available system reserves across the Visayas grid, the DOE said, and vowed to look into these reports.

Meanwhile, the department assured the public that it is conducting heightened monitoring of the grid and implementing all necessary measures to protect power system reliability and minimize further disruptions.

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