Visayas, Mindanao Grids Face Red, Yellow Power Alerts Amid Outages

Power supply concerns continue to plague the Visayas and Mindanao grids in the Philippines, with the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) issuing red and yellow alerts anew. The Visayas grid was placed under a red alert for seven hours on Thursday, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., due to power plant outages and limited electricity imports from Mindanao. A yellow alert was also declared for the Visayas grid from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. As of 8 a.m. on Thursday, the available capacity of the Visayas grid was 2,205 megawatts (MW), while the peak demand was 2,460 MW, indicating a deficit. The Mindanao grid was also placed under a yellow alert from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. A red alert signifies that the supply cannot meet the demand, raising the risk of rotational brownouts unless consumption is managed effectively. A yellow alert indicates that available power reserves are thinning, meaning any unexpected plant outage could trigger service interruptions. These alerts highlight the ongoing challenges in ensuring stable power supply in these key regions, impacting households and businesses. The Department of Energy (DOE) has previously targeted a brownout-free Christmas for Visayas and Mindanao, but supply issues persist beyond the summer months. Information Source: Inquirer Business