Power producers confirm need for new generation plants to avert blackout

By Alena Mae S. Flores – April 17, 2024, 8:55 pm
from manilastandard.net

The Philippine Independent Power Producers Association (PIPPA) acknowledged the need for additional power plants in the wake of the yellow and red alerts in the Luzon and Visayas grids this week.

PIPPA, composed of 28 companies engaged in power generation, said in a statement that majority of the 19 power plants in the Luzon grid on outage are hydro plants whose outages could occur during summer when water levels are low.

The group said its member-generators submitted the reports required in instances of unplanned outage and continue to prioritize efforts in further strengthening the resilience of their generation assets.

“However, additional capacities are needed, supported by policies conducive and fair to capital-intensive investments. Towards this end, the current regulatory framework relating to merchant plants, government approvals, price caps, and the reserve market may be enhanced to allow economically feasible operations by investors,” the group said.

PIPPA said it would heed the call of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to work together and coordinate with the Department of Energy to ensure that all PIPPA members would contribute to the reliability and stability of the grid.

PIPPA’s members account for 82.8 percent (13,549.40MW) of grid installed capacity and serve millions of Filipinos in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Manila Electric Co. said Interruptible Load Program (ILP) participants or its big-load customers agreed to de-load around 300 MW.

“This helped ease the demand and spared households from widespread power interruptions. We again call on the public to continue practicing energy conservation and efficiency measures to help manage the overall demand,” Meralco said.