By Vincent P. Grecia
National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP)’s claim that the grid remained in a “normal” state when a plant of the Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) tripped around 12 noon of January 2, 2024 is misleading according to Senators attending the inquiry on massive power outage in Western Visayas on January 10, 2024.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian cited NGCP’s claim to be “misleading” considering that the power plant of the PEDC already tripped.
“When one of the plants went down, it created a negative margin. In other words, mas mataas yung demand kaysa sa (the demand became higher than the) supply. Officially, that will create an imbalance in the grid,” Gatchalian said.
“It’s misleading because it’s no longer in a normal state. It’s deficit margin,” he added.
When asked about the claim, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said what happened can already be qualified to be in an alert or emergency state by the Philippine Grid Code.
“Emergency na siya (It is an emergency) because for an emergency state in Section 6223 of the Grid Code, it says emergency state — any of the following conditions exist: generation deficiency or operating margin is zero,” Dimalanta said.
The ERC chief also pointed out that NGCP’s claim was focusing on the grid frequency and the voltage requirements which are just part of the six parameters to consider if the grid is in a normal state.
Clark Agustin, who heads NGCP’s Visayas System Operations, claimed to the panel that before the tripping of PEDC power plant, the grid was in normal condition.
“Meaning, the voltages, frequency, loading levels of transmission lines, our operating margin is sufficient. So, normal,” Agustin told senators.
Even when the PEDC power plant had an unplanned outage, Agustin said the system remained stable.
“Normal po yung system, stable siya (The system is normal, it was stable). Voltages and frequency are within limits, normal limits. Loading levels, wala tayong (We had no) transmission line which was overloaded,” Agustin insisted.
“Between 12:06 p.m. to 2:19 p.m., since stable nga po yung grid (the grid was stable) — voltage and frequency were in normal limits within required. Wala po tayong (We had no) overloaded line or tripping of lines. So, we did a normal dispatch, process, responsibility as system operations,” he added.
Senator Raffy Tulfo, who chairs the panel, was annoyed by Agustin’s statements saying NGCP should have done something when the PEDC power plant shut down.
Meanwhile, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero raised the need to have the Philippine Grid Code reviewed to prevent similar incidents from happening.
Escudero cited the current situation wherein power plants can make an unscheduled shutdown if it affects only frequency but is silent about unbalance and voltage.
Local officials from Western Visayas, who were also present during the inquiry, are seeking to make NGCP accountable by paying their billions of economic losses during the massive power outage.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, in his statement during the hearing, urged the body to hold those responsible for the massive brownout accountable, adding that no one was blamed when a similar incident happened in April of 2023.
“I ask you this time, find someone who is guilty, hold them accountable, and let them pay,” said the mayor, who joined the hearing virtually.
He said the city suffered a loss of an estimated P2 billion or an estimated P500 million a day.
“We are serious this time, and we hope, ultimately, the Senate and the House of Representatives together, to punish those who are accountable and to hold them accountable for these losses, especially in my beloved city,” he added.
Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., for his part, pleaded for an immediate solution to the problem and pushed for the perfection of the management of the grid and completion of phase 3 of the Cebu Negros Panay (CNP) backbone and other ancillary civil structures to strengthen the grid.
“We in Iloilo and the rest in Western Visayas are positioning to take legal recourse to vindicate the rights of our people so they can be compensated for the damage done, and more importantly, to exert the strongest pressure so that the blackout will not happen again,” he said.
The province, he added, has suffered P3.8 billion in economic losses.
Guimaras Governor JC Rahman Nava, meanwhile, asked the committee for a review of the “swinging reserves” billed by the NGCP to consumers.
He said more than 30 to 50 percent of the monthly bill are for ancillary support services, including contingency and dispatch reserves intended to prevent incidents like outages, that are passed on to consumers.
“Paying that much monthly to guarantee incidents such as this will not happen is too much for us consumers. This should be put under review,” he said. (Reports from PNA)
