Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 24) – The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Friday warned that there will be a “tight power supply” this coming summer due to higher demand for 2023.
The Department of Energy (DOE) is forecasting a total peak power supply demand of 13,125 megawatts for Luzon that will occur towards the end of May 2023. This is 8.35% higher from the actual 2022 peak load of 12,113 megawatts in May 2022.
For the Visayas, NGCP said the peak demand is seen to occur in September 2023, while in Mindanao, the peak demand will occur in June.
The NGCP forecasts a 16.19% increase in demand for the Visayas this year, while a 10.52% increase is expected for Mindanao.
Although the projection does not include occurrence of yellow or red alerts, NGCP noted that there are weeks between March and April 2023 where operating margins are below required levels due to higher demand and planned outages of plants.
NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza earlier said that the supply of power reserves in Luzon is still running a bit thin.
READ: NGCP warns of thin reserves in Luzon grid, appeals for more energy sources
A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s regulating and contingency requirement – which is at 668MW each.
Meanwhile, a red alert status is issued when supplies are insufficient to meet consumers’ demand and the transmission grid’s regulating requirement.
