The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said Tuesday that there would be a shortage of power supply throughout Luzon due to plant failures.
“Magtutuloy-tuloy ‘yan hanggang probably June 4… then Monday, possibly may red alert pa rin,” said Reynaldo Abadilla, head of Luzon system operations of the NGCP.
Some parts of Luzon are experiencing rotational brownouts due to the failure of more than 20 plants.
Due to the lack of supply, Meralco announced a 2-hour rotating brownout but said they were avoiding power outages at hospitals and vaccination sites.
“Walang favoritism dito, everybody shares the burden of being interrupted at any given time,” said Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga.
The government and NGCP appealed to consumers to conserve electricity amid the scorching heat of the weather.
But the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) group withdrew the government’s appeal because it said the power supply should be prepared, especially during the summer.
“Ang rotating brownout ay labis na pabigat lalo na sa mga estudyante natin na may online classes at magulang na work from home,” said Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes.
Power supply shortage lasts until June 7: NGCP
(Rotating brownouts are extremely burdensome, especially for our students who have online classes and work from home parents.)
Reyes also slammed Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, who he said put politics first in attending the PDP-Laban administration party meeting on Monday.
According to the Department of Energy, NGCP must have a contracted power reserve.
“Assuming na naka-100 percent fully contracted si NGCP sa ancillary services, hindi pa rin po mawawala ‘yong mga grid alert. Kaya di kami naka-fully contract kasi wala ho kaming mabibilhan,” answered NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza.
(Assuming that NGCP is 100 percent fully contracted to ancillary services, those grid alerts will still not go away. So we don’t have a full contract because there was nothing to buy from.)
Despite the brownout, the government ensured that the vaccines against COVID-19 were protected because there was a generator in storage.
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