The Department of Energy (DOE) yesterday sounded the alarm for a possible red alert in power supply two weeks after election on May 9.
This was the worst possible scenario painted by the DOE for the entire year in an online briefing yesterday.
Red alerts are declared when actual power supply against demand is insufficient and power interruptions are imminent.
For the Luzon grid, the red alert projection factored in adjustments in the revised maintenance schedules of power plants as well as the possibility of forced outages of power generators worth an average of 536 megawatts (MW).
The DOE said red alerts may happen on the weeks of May 16 and May 23.
But DOE Assistant Secretary Redentor Delola said red alerts may be averted as the maintenance of two power plants with a total capacity of 800 MW originally scheduled for the same crucial weeks were moved to June.
Delola said the 668 MW unit 2 of the GN Power Dinginin coal-fired power plant in Bataan which is scheduled to undergo testing and commissioning for the similar period may also provide as much as 400 MW of power to the Luzon grid.
DOE Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said the DOE and its attached agencies are on high alert to ensure electricity will be available especially during the elections.
Fuentebella said the DOE is also preparing for possible transmission and line issues which may be experienced only in local levels.
“It is also the reason why counting centers have triple backup (power sources) just like the ones we have for our vaccine storage facilities,” Funtebella said.
Meanwhile, the DOE said for the Visayas grid, the worst case for May would be yellow alerts for both afternoon and evening peak demands.
Yellow alerts are issued when the level of power reserve in the grid is low but no interruption is imminent.
The Mindanao grid is deemed to have more than enough power supply for the entire year as it is not expected to experience any power alert levels.
