The Department of Energy (DOE) does not expect red nor yellow alert levels next year despite the effects of El Niño particularly to hydro power plants.
Yellow alerts are issued when the level of power reserve in the grid is low while red alerts are declared when actual power supply against demand is insufficient and power interruptions are imminent.
Irma Exconde, DOE director of the Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, told reporters in a briefing yesterday no power alert levels are seen to happen next year despite an expected drop in power generation from hydro power plants.
DOE said from the 3,472 megawatts (MW) of dependable capacity from hydro plants, available capacity from said resources will drop 79.1 percent to 725.5 MW during the height of El Niño.
“Even with these assumptions, we’re still looking at… without potential red or yellow alert because of the power plants coming in 2024. Particularly, there are several solar power plants coming in and these will be favorable under an El Niño scenario,” Exconde said.
The DOE said for next year alone, 2,952.393 MW worth of capacity from several power plants are committed to come online all over the Philippines. Of the said capacity, 971.375 MW or 32.9 percent are solar projects.
However, the agency said such optimistic projection may still change if unexpected power plant shutdowns will occur especially for coal-fired power plants which may be affected by extreme temperature during the height of summer.
“From the supply side, we are looking at adequate levels. Even if these are adequate, we are also anticipating that there might be interruptions where the plants, especially the coal-fired power plants will not be working at their optimal levels. We have to be monitoring all of them very closely especially the ones in Luzon,” DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.
Lotilla said the DOE is also making sure the country has a diverse source of electricity and there are enough fuel contracts to serve the requirements of existing power plants.
