SINGAPORE — The Philippines on Thursday warned of power cuts of up to seven hours across its two main grids as searing heat and power plant outages triggered the first back-to-back serious shortage warnings in two years.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) issued a red alert on Facebook, warning of potential outages of up to seven hours in 32 areas across the Visayas grid in central Philippines, and hour-long outages in nine areas across Luzon, including the capital Manila.
A red alert represents the highest level of grid strain, meaning supply can no longer meet demand. Wednesday’s red alert for Luzon, triggered by the tripping of two major high-voltage transmission lines, extended into a second day on Thursday.
“I just gave birth and I really hope there are no brownouts,” Facebook user Michelle Angel Molles said in response to the NGCP announcement, using the local term for power interruptions.
The Southeast Asian archipelago of nearly 120 million people is already reeling from high fuel prices due to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which had forced it to suspend spot electricity market trading due to fuel supply risks and price volatility.
“It’s already scorching hot and now there might be power cuts on top of that. Unbelievable,” Molles said.
Power capacity available was more than 3% short of peak demand in Luzon and 6.9% short in Visayas, NGCP said, adding that 27 power plants had been forced into temporary shutdowns due to outages since the beginning of this month.
An NGCP spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the grid operator’s Facebook posts did not provide details on the types of power plants affected or the reasons for the outages.
The Philippines Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday directed power companies to resolve plant issues quickly, and it called on large users to make efforts to limit their consumption.
“The DOE encourages industries and government offices to practice energy efficiency measures, especially during peak hours,” it said in a statement.
In a separate joint statement, the DOE and the Energy Regulatory Commission jointly directed the NGCP to submit a report on the grid disruptions.
“The public deserves a full and transparent accounting of the incidents that led to these grid alerts,” Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said.
The NGCP said it expected sufficient power to be available on Friday across its three main grids.
—Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; additional reporting by Karen Lema in Manila
