The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is doing a yeoman’s job in supervising our power plants. This we understand, especially at this time when the El Nino is at its worst, rain is scarce in many areas, and water has become a very precious commodity. With many of our power plants in the category of hydropower, generating electricity through steam-driven turbines, lack of water in the dams is indeed a problem.
The current lack of electric supplies in our cities, especially in Luzon, is traced to several power plants not working at this time.
Thus, the ERC is currently looking at possible violations of power plant operators whose facilities remain on outage that caused thin power reserve levels in the Luzon and Visayas grids for the fourth straight day yesterday. The regulatory body said power plant operators can be penalized if these facilities breach the allowable outage days. Depending on configurations and the type of technology used, power plants are annually provided with a maximum number of allowable days on outage.
“The ERC recognizes the profound implication of the current power plant outages on grid integrity and reliability. As a matter of course, we collate information and review the reports from the affected stakeholders to come up with a preliminary analysis of the cause or causes of the incidents,” said Monalisa Dimalanta, ERC chair, in a statement.
“Based on our findings, we will formalize the investigation to determine compliance or non-compliance by the relevant stakeholders and implement appropriate measures to impose penalties on any lapses and address issues that may have contributed to the adverse situation,” Dimalanta added.
The ERC said while the primary focus remains on the immediate restoration of power capacities, the regulatory body is mandated to review the performance of stakeholders concerned to ensure compliance with reporting requirements, maintenance and technical standards, as well as observance of allowable outage limitations.
Dimalanta is correct in directing the power plant operators to submit to the Commission their estimated timelines for the resumption of their operations and we will continue to monitor their timely compliance. We are fully aware of the difficulties brought about by these power disruptions and affirm our commitment to a thorough investigation.
The Luzon and Visayas grids were again placed under red and yellow alerts. Yellow alerts are issued when the level of power reserve in the grid is low while red alerts are declared when actual power supply against demand is insufficient and power interruptions are imminent.
According to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the alerts were raised as available capacity in the Luzon Grid was only at 13,397 MW compared to a peak demand of 12,892 MW as available capacity in the Visayas Grid was only 2,410 MW against a peak demand of 2,354 MW.
The Department of Energy should closely monitor and coordinate with the NGCP and the power producers so that we all survive this crisis in electricity and water sources.
READ MORE:
Año's take on Alvarez challenge (April 18, 2024)
Welcoming an era of critical press (April 17, 2024)