'Brace for possible rotational brownouts' July 13, Metro Cebu told

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Parts of Cebu City and Mandaue City may experience rotational brownouts Monday evening if the Visayas grid’s condition worsens from a Yellow Alert to a Red Alert, Visayan Electric said in an advisory.

The distribution utility said the Visayas grid remains under Yellow Alert, indicating that while electricity supply is still sufficient to meet demand, reserve capacity has become thin.

However, Visayan Electric warned that if the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) raises the alert to Red Alert, which means available power supply can no longer meet consumer demand, rotational power interruptions may be implemented to help stabilize the grid.

Under the advisory, the possible outages would be carried out in one-hour intervals affecting selected areas in Cebu City and Mandaue City.

READ: Yellow alert up for Visayas grid again

From 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., portions of Apas, Banilad, Kasambagan, Lahug and San Antonio in Cebu City, as well as parts of Banilad in Mandaue City, may be affected.

From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., possible outages may hit portions of Alang-Alang, Cambaro, Ibabao-Estancia, Opao, Paknaan, Tabok, Tipolo and Umapad in Mandaue City.

And from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., portions of Carreta, North Reclamation Area and Tejero in Cebu City may experience power interruptions.

All provisional

Visayan Electric stressed that the schedule remains provisional and will only be implemented if the NGCP declares a Red Alert over the Visayas grid. It added that the outage schedule could still change depending on actual grid conditions and directives from the grid operator.

The utility urged customers to stay updated through its official advisories as it continues to monitor developments.

A Yellow Alert is issued when the operating margin of a power grid falls below the required contingency level, signaling tighter electricity reserves. A Red Alert, meanwhile, is declared when available generating capacity is insufficient to meet consumer demand, prompting the implementation of load-dropping measures or rotational brownouts to prevent a wider system failure.

The Visayas grid has experienced recurring Yellow Alert declarations in recent months due to tight power supply, forced outages of several generating units and increasing electricity demand.

READ: Grid outlook: Visayas grid likely to face tight power margins again

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