The Department of Energy (DOE) sees a stable power grid this week as consumer demand decreases, according to preliminary data.
In a report by Philippine Star, DOE-Electric Power Industry Management Bureau director Irma Exconde said that while demand is declining, supply remains the major factor.
She cautioned that a clear outlook is still pending as the DOE is still surveying the status of power plants currently on forced outages to determine their availability this week.
Exconde added that the initial data suggests a normal power situation this week if forced outages remain within 900 to 1,000 megawatts, compared to last week’s peak of 2,267 MW.
Due to limited capacity and forced outages at multiple power plants, the Luzon grid observed a yellow alert for three days in a row last week.
She explained that the situation is dependent on whether power plants return online before peak periods, the demand remains lower than expected, and no additional forced outages occur.
Meanwhile, DOE Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan assured the public that the country’s power supply remains sufficient as the department practiced enhanced monitoring efforts, including direct communication with power plant operators and utilizing social media for data acquisition.
Marasigan added that no manual load dropping or red alerts are anticipated in the coming weeks, though the possibility of yellow alerts remains.
