Visayas, Mindanao Grids Placed Under Red Alert as Power Supply Falls Short of Demand

 

The power situation in the Visayas and Mindanao tightened significantly on Thursday, September 3, as several generating units remained unavailable, leaving both grids with insufficient capacity to meet projected peak demand and maintain required reserves.

In the Visayas, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the grid under red alert from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. A yellow alert was in effect from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and again from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The grid was projected to have only 2,187 megawatts (MW) of available capacity against an anticipated peak demand of 2,575 MW. That translates to a shortfall of roughly 388 MW during the period of highest consumption.

The supply constraints were linked to several unavailable or reduced-capacity generating units. Therma Visayas Inc. Unit 1 and Panay Energy Development Corp. Unit 3 were among those under forced outage, while other units that were offline or operating below capacity accounted for an estimated 792 MW reduction in available power.

Mindanao was facing a similar situation, although its projected deficit was narrower.

NGCP scheduled a red alert for the Mindanao grid from noon to 9 p.m., with yellow alerts covering 10 a.m. to noon and 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Available generation in Mindanao was estimated at 2,480 MW, compared with projected peak demand of 2,546 MW, resulting in a capacity gap of approximately 66 MW.

Several major facilities contributed to the reduced supply. GNPower Kauswagan Units 1 and 2 and Therma South Inc. Unit 2 were listed among the generating units on forced outage. NGCP placed the total unavailable or derated capacity in Mindanao at approximately 841.6 MW.

A red alert signals more than a routine power supply concern. It indicates that the available generation is not enough to satisfy projected demand while also maintaining the contingency reserves required to respond to unexpected disruptions.

With both grids operating with limited margins, any additional generation loss or unexpected increase in electricity consumption could place further pressure on system stability.