The Department of Energy (DOE), through its Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (EPIMB), is closely monitoring and coordinating with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the concerned generation companies on the current power supply condition following the red and yellow alerts declared in the Luzon and Visayas grids today, 08 May 2023.

Following the tripping of the Bolo-Masinloc 230 kV Line 2 which led to the tripping of Masinloc Units 1&2 (618 MW), the NGCP put the Luzon Grid under red alert from 1400H to 1600H and 1900H to 2000H, and yellow alert at 1700H and 1800H.

The reduced generation supply in Luzon affected export to the Visayas grid, which resulted in the declaration of yellow alert at 1700H and 1800H. As the situation emanated from a transmission line tripping, the DOE has instructed the NGCP to explain within 24 hours the circumstances that caused the outages.

Meanwhile, following the declaration of red and yellow alerts in the Luzon grid, the NGCP as the System Operator declared a suspension of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market in the Luzon Grid. The suspension of the WESM will effectively shield the public from volatile prices that may arise from the unavailability of some power plants.

Some areas are now experiencing short power interruptions. However, with the DOE's coordination with MERALCO, the participants to the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) have de-loaded to manage the supply and minimize interruptions to other customers.

The DOE is also calling the public to exercise energy efficiency and conservation through their judicious use of electricity, especially during the peak hours. ###