The Department of Energy (DOE) said consumers may expect rotational brownouts as the Luzon grid were put under red and yellow alerts. In a statement Monday, the DOE said the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Luzon grid under red alert from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 8 p.m. and yellow alert from 5 to 6 p.m. This is due to the tripping of Bolo-Masinloc 230 kilovolt (kV) Line 2 that led to tripping of the 618-megawatt Masinloc Units 1 and 2. “The DOE is also calling the public to exercise energy efficiency and conservation through their judicious use of electricity, especially during the peak hours,” the DOE said. It added it has instructed the NGCP to explain the case of the tripping to the energy infrastructures. The DOE said NGCP has also suspended the trading of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) upon the declaration of the yellow and red alerts to shield the consumers from the price volatility due to the unavailability of some power generation facilities. Meanwhile, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has implemented the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) to manage the power supply and minimize brownouts to other customers. In a separate statement, Meralco said some 321,705 customers in its franchise areas were affected by the rotational brownouts

Source: Philippines News Agency