Visayas grid seen returning to normal by Sept. 21 — DOE

Local

THE power situation in the Visayas grid is expected to return to normal by Sept. 21 as several generating units in the region and Mindanao are scheduled to come back online, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

Luningning Baltazar, director of the DOE’s Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, said the projected improvement would come as offline generating capacity is restored and additional supply becomes available through the interconnected Visayas-Mindanao grid.

“We are expecting the Visayas to return to normal by 21 September,” Baltazar said during an online press briefing on Monday, Sep. 7.

The projection comes as the Visayas continues to experience tight power supply, particularly during evening peak hours when solar generation is no longer available.

Baltazar said the Visayas grid recorded an afternoon peak demand of 2,580 megawatts (MW) last week against available supply of 2,490 MW. During the evening peak, available supply fell to about 1,958 MW as roughly 500 MW to 700 MW of solar generation became unavailable.

The region remains dependent on power transfers from Luzon and Mindanao, with about 150 MW coming from Luzon and 250 MW from Mindanao during the period.

Several distribution utilities and electric cooperatives in the Visayas were affected by the resulting grid alerts, with the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) implementing manual load dropping.

Baltazar said around four to six distribution utilities were affected at varying durations, with some outages lasting as long as three hours.

Among those affected were distribution utilities and cooperatives in Negros, Iloilo, Aklan and Cebu, including Visayan Electric Co.

For this week, the DOE projects Visayas peak demand at 2,503 MW in the afternoon against available supply of 2,353 MW. NGCP has declared a yellow alert for the 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. period.

The situation becomes tighter in the evening, when solar generation drops out. Baltazar said the grid could face a red-alert interval between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., followed by yellow alert from 7 p.m. onward.

The DOE estimates that 793 MW of solar capacity becomes unavailable during the evening, while about 596 MW of other capacity is currently unavailable in the Visayas.

The return of several generating units is expected to ease the supply deficit.

Therma Visayas Inc. Unit 1, with 169 MW of capacity, is expected to return by September 15, while Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) units in Mindanao that support the interconnected grid are also scheduled to return.

Baltazar said TSI Unit 1 and Unit 2, with a combined capacity of 300 MW, are expected to return by September 19. GNPK Unit 2, with 138 MW according to the briefing, is targeted to return by September 20.

With these units coming back, the DOE expects the Visayas grid to regain normal operating conditions by September 21.

However, Baltazar noted that the improvement remains dependent on the availability of the affected generating units and the ability of the interconnected grid to provide support.

The DOE is also pursuing additional measures to strengthen the outlook, including the procurement of ancillary services.

The agency said a 253-MW ancillary-service requirement is being pursued through direct negotiations directed to NGCP.

If completed, Baltazar said the arrangement could improve the Visayas outlook and potentially remove the need for yellow and red alerts in the coming weeks.

Several other interim supply options are also being evaluated, including power barges and modular generating sets.

Among the offers being considered are a 20-MW facility from FDC in Negros, a 40-MW power barge from More Power, 50 MW to 100 MW from Sumitomo and up to 50 MW of modular generating capacity from Aggreko.

Meanwhile, Baltazar said around 200 MW of committed generation projects in the Visayas are currently under testing and commissioning.

The DOE is also looking at longer-term capacity additions as the region faces continuing demand growth.

For Cebu and Bohol, the generation pipeline includes 150 MW of new baseload capacity in 2028 and another 107 MW in 2029, alongside 470 MW of renewable capacity in 2028 and 60 MW in 2029.

For Panay and Negros, planned capacity includes 135 MW of baseload in 2028, 217 MW in 2029, 150 MW in 2030, and 135 MW in 2031. Renewable projects totaling 100 MW in 2028 and 270 MW in 2029 are also in the pipeline.

Baltazar said the additional capacity is critical given the Visayas grid’s dependence on power imports and the continuing need to address generation and transmission constraints.

For now, the DOE expects the return of existing generating capacity to provide the most immediate relief to consumers and businesses affected by the region’s recurring power alerts.(MyTVCebu)