Visayas Grid Faces Tight Power Supply, Luzon Faces Water Woes

MANILA, Philippines — As if the water supply for households in Metro Manila and irrigation for Luzon were not enough, power is also emerging as another pressing problem, this time in the Visayas. The Visayas grid is expected to operate on razor-thin power margins for five straight days next week, according to officials of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) in Cebu City. Based on NGCP’s weekly forecast, total available supply will hover between 2,736 megawatts (MW) and 2,907 MW from Monday, July 13 to Friday, July 17. Meanwhile, system peak demand is projected to range from 2,429 MW to 2,470 MW. The tightest margin is expected on July 17 when supply of 2,736 MW is projected to cover a peak demand of 2,429 MW, leaving an operating margin of just 307 MW. On July 14, it follows closely, with supply at 2,758 MW against a 2,439-MW peak, or a 319-MW buffer. Wednesday and Thursday are expected to see slightly wider but still thin margins, at 352 MW and 351 MW, respectively. The Visayas grid has been under close watch in recent months amid recurring alerts linked to unplanned outages at key power facilities, including Therma Visayas Inc. and, more recently, the Palm Concepcion Power Corp. Additionally, the Cebu-Iloilo Panay Energy Development Corp. transmission line tripped, isolating the power plant’s Unit 3, which has been recently reactivated. The Department of Energy has previously pointed to aging plants and thin reserves as recurring stress points for the island grid, prompting calls to fast-track battery energy storage system projects and other reserve-boosting measures. Consumers in Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod and other parts of the Visayas have felt the impact of tight supply through unplanned power interruptions during past alert periods, particularly during the peak afternoon and early evening hours when demand typically spikes. In Luzon, water is also expected to affect the power situation as nine dams across Luzon continue to see lower water elevations since May. The water level at Magat Dam, one of northern Luzon’s largest reservoirs, has continued to decline and is now close to its critical elevation of 160 meters. The dam generates up to 380 megawatts of power and irrigates some 90,000 hectares of rice land in Isabela, Cagayan, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya. As stated in a previous report, the National Irrigation Administration said water recession at the reservoir has averaged 80 centimeters a day because of the lack of heavy rains at the watershed in the past weeks. It said that without significant rainfall, a “critically low level” would be imminent by mid-July unless irrigation supply is reduced further or rationed among thousands of farm workers who depend on the dam for land preparation and palay production. The dwindling water level has already contributed to a massive fish kill that affected more than 1,400 fishermen and fish cage operators. (See related story in Regions, Page A5.) Energy officials fear the threat of declining dam water levels to electricity supply because it can affect water flow and the pressure needed to operate hydroelectric turbines. As a result, power plants generate less electricity, placing additional strain on the grid during peak-demand seasons such as dry seasons and heat waves. —WITH A REPORT FROM CEBU DAILY NEWS