Visayas Grid Faces Blackout Threat Amidst Plant Shutdowns

MANILA, Philippines — The Visayas grid was placed under red alert for six hours yesterday after major coal-fired plants shut down and transmission lines tripped, raising the risk of power interruptions. The alert, issued when power supply is insufficient to meet demand, was in effect from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., according to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP). A yellow alert, raised when operating reserves fall to low levels, followed from 9 to 11 p.m. At least five coal-fired units remained unavailable. Two others were isolated from the grid due to the simultaneous tripping of two major power lines. Both lines and the affected generating units were restored afterward. Meanwhile, 27 power plants also went on a forced outage, while 14 others operated at reduced output, cutting more than 1,200 megawatts of supply from the system. The NGCP said peak electricity demand reached 2,319 megawatts, while the available capacity was just 2,261 MW.