The Department of Energy (DOE) underscored the importance of planning power plant maintenance shutdowns, as these are vital to Luzon having adequate power supply and reserves this year.
This comes as DOE officials met with representatives from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Friday regarding the 2022 power supply outlook in the wake of the Yellow Alerts in Luzon earlier last week.
The DOE said that there are “no foreseen yellow alerts in 2022, with the NGCP having proposed some amendments in the schedule of generator maintenance adjustments.”
“The availability of stable and reliable power supply is of grave importance – there should be no surprises this year, especially given our continuous battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, regions that have been affected by Typhoon Odette are rebuilding themselves, and of course, because we are in an election year,” Energy Sec. Alfonso Cusi said in a statement on Sunday.
Under the Grid Operating and Maintenance Program (GOMP), power generation companies (gencos) are required to submit their proposed maintenance schedules in advance to help the DOE and other energy-related entities identify the power supply and demand projections for the year.
“Sound forward planning would allow the energy family to identify potential issues and formulate appropriate contingency measures to prevent potential power interruptions,” the DOE said.
Both DOE and NGCP said that gencos should strictly follow the maintenance schedule submitted in the GOMP 2022-2024. Lack of GOMP compliance was a key issue that led to the Luzon Red Alerts from May 31-June 2 last year.
While there are no foreseen yellow alerts for both Luzon and Mindanao in 2022, even after considering power plant maintenance schedules, Visayas is projected to have a different story.
“The energy family should anticipate the potential occurrence of yellow alerts in the absence of [the] high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission link from Luzon, and after taking into account generator maintenance adjustments,” the DOE said.
The 350-kilovolt Leyte-Luzon HVDC serves as the interconnection between the Luzon and Visayas Grids since both power networks connect to each other at peak times of the day.
