Power outage hits parts of Metro, Luzon
A DAY after assuring the public of uninterrupted power supply this summer, sections of Metro Manila and nearby provinces were left in the dark as a number of plants the National Power Corp. (Napocor) contracted to supply energy shut down.
In a statement, Napocor blamed the power outage on generation shortfalls caused by its failure to anticipate the increase in demand for electricity.
Cyril del Callar, Napocor president, said Wednesday’s peak demand in electricity shot up by 200 megawatts from the forecast 6,400 megawatts for the period, thus straining the Luzon grid’s supply.
This was compounded by equipment trouble at the 270-megawatt Bataan Combined Cycle Power Plant in Limay town. Both the 225-megawatt Bauang and 600-megawatt Limay power plants run by independent power producers (IPPs) contracted by Napocor also shut down.
“We are now utilizing all available power plants, including those running on coal, natural gas and diesel, to address the situation. We are also making sure that these power plants are running reliably and efficiently,” del Callar said.
Only a day earlier, del Callar said that maintenance work on power plants would be suspended to ensure uninterrupted electricity during the upcoming election. Napocor also assured that its power plants have adequate fuel supply and that quick-start generating units would be available not only on election day, but also during the subsequent counting of ballots and canvassing of votes.
Napocor blamed the increase in power demand on the extreme summer heat, which forced people to use cooling appliances for longer-than-usual periods. Last year demand for electricity peaked in May.
Napocor said that it expects power to be restored in affected areas in the afternoon or the evening.
The power troubles prompted state-run National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) to declare a system red alert at 8 a.m. in the Luzon grid due to lack of system reserves.
This in turn prompted the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to implement “a manual load dropping” resulting in rotating power interruptions within its franchise area until 12:30 p.m.
Because of the unusually high demand of electricity, Meralco had to temporarily shut down power in Bulacan and portions of Novaliches. TransCo, on the other hand, had to cut off power supply in areas in Zambales (Subic and Castillejos towns); Bataan (in the municipalities of Balanga, Orani, Limay, Bagac, Orion) and Pampanga (in Guagua, Santa Rita, Bacolor, Lubao, Mexico and Arayat towns).
“The power interruptions, which could last up to four hours in different areas, started at 10:19 a.m. in the Meralco franchise area. Residential, commercial and industrial customers may be affected by these rotating power outages,” Elpi Cuna, Meralco vice-president and corporate communication head, said.
The power interruptions was a result of a generation deficiency of 450 megawatts for Meralco. This was attributed to the cutting-in of Santa Rita Module 10 and the diversion of coal intended for Cebu to the Pagbilao plant.
Meanwhile, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said it would proactively set measures to avoid blackouts similar to the ones experienced by California in the early part of the decade.
The assurance was made after IPPs expressed concern that the failure of Meralco to pay its power suppliers may lead to massive blackouts similar to the ones that crippled California in 2001.
“The ERC will do its best to find avenues to prevent ‘buy high but sell low’ transactions and expeditiously act on application of distribution utilities including Meralco for the collection of generation charges from their respective electricity consumers so as not to impair the financial viability of power distributors,” Rodolfo B. Albano Jr., ERC chairman, said.
By Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo Manila Times Reporter
In a statement, Napocor blamed the power outage on generation shortfalls caused by its failure to anticipate the increase in demand for electricity.
Cyril del Callar, Napocor president, said Wednesday’s peak demand in electricity shot up by 200 megawatts from the forecast 6,400 megawatts for the period, thus straining the Luzon grid’s supply.
This was compounded by equipment trouble at the 270-megawatt Bataan Combined Cycle Power Plant in Limay town. Both the 225-megawatt Bauang and 600-megawatt Limay power plants run by independent power producers (IPPs) contracted by Napocor also shut down.
“We are now utilizing all available power plants, including those running on coal, natural gas and diesel, to address the situation. We are also making sure that these power plants are running reliably and efficiently,” del Callar said.
Only a day earlier, del Callar said that maintenance work on power plants would be suspended to ensure uninterrupted electricity during the upcoming election. Napocor also assured that its power plants have adequate fuel supply and that quick-start generating units would be available not only on election day, but also during the subsequent counting of ballots and canvassing of votes.
Napocor blamed the increase in power demand on the extreme summer heat, which forced people to use cooling appliances for longer-than-usual periods. Last year demand for electricity peaked in May.
Napocor said that it expects power to be restored in affected areas in the afternoon or the evening.
The power troubles prompted state-run National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) to declare a system red alert at 8 a.m. in the Luzon grid due to lack of system reserves.
This in turn prompted the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to implement “a manual load dropping” resulting in rotating power interruptions within its franchise area until 12:30 p.m.
Because of the unusually high demand of electricity, Meralco had to temporarily shut down power in Bulacan and portions of Novaliches. TransCo, on the other hand, had to cut off power supply in areas in Zambales (Subic and Castillejos towns); Bataan (in the municipalities of Balanga, Orani, Limay, Bagac, Orion) and Pampanga (in Guagua, Santa Rita, Bacolor, Lubao, Mexico and Arayat towns).
“The power interruptions, which could last up to four hours in different areas, started at 10:19 a.m. in the Meralco franchise area. Residential, commercial and industrial customers may be affected by these rotating power outages,” Elpi Cuna, Meralco vice-president and corporate communication head, said.
The power interruptions was a result of a generation deficiency of 450 megawatts for Meralco. This was attributed to the cutting-in of Santa Rita Module 10 and the diversion of coal intended for Cebu to the Pagbilao plant.
Meanwhile, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said it would proactively set measures to avoid blackouts similar to the ones experienced by California in the early part of the decade.
The assurance was made after IPPs expressed concern that the failure of Meralco to pay its power suppliers may lead to massive blackouts similar to the ones that crippled California in 2001.
“The ERC will do its best to find avenues to prevent ‘buy high but sell low’ transactions and expeditiously act on application of distribution utilities including Meralco for the collection of generation charges from their respective electricity consumers so as not to impair the financial viability of power distributors,” Rodolfo B. Albano Jr., ERC chairman, said.
By Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo Manila Times Reporter
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
1:09 PM
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