THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has asked the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) to urge its members to use their own generators to avert power interruptions while augmenting limited supply.
“We seek the assistance and support of the PCCI to encourage their members, especially the commercial and industrial customers, to participate in the ILP (interruptible load program) to help augment the limited power supply considering the possible power interruptions in the coming months,” ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Agnes VST Devanadera said in a statement on Monday.
The ILP calls on large power users with their own generating facilities to voluntarily not draw power from the grid when supply is tight. The Department of Energy (DoE) works with distribution utilities and electric cooperatives to implement the program.
Rolling out the ILP is one of the immediate actions that can address the projected supply deficiency in the upcoming weeks, the ERC said, citing the DoE’s power outlook.
Left unaddressed, the commission said the tight supply conditions may lead to yellow and red alerts — the grid operator’s warning of thinning power reserves.
National Grid Corp. of the Philippines issues a yellow alert when reserves fall below ideal levels. This is subsequently downgraded to a red alert if the supply-demand balance worsens. According to the Energy department, red alerts triggers rotating “brownouts.”
From May 31 to June 2, the Luzon grid was placed under a spate of yellow and red alerts due to forced plant outages, thinning reserves and higher temperatures.
BusinessWorld reached out to PCCI for its thoughts on ERC’s statement, but the group has not yet replied as of press time. — Angelica Y. Yang