‘Aghon’ downs 19 power plants, causes red alert in Luzon grid

MANILA – The Department of Energy (DOE) said 19 power plants went down due Typhoon Aghon, eight of which are on-grid and 11 are in off-grid areas.

The eight power plants connected to the grid that were affected and went offline due to Aghon include the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Ilijan power plant; the 764-MW Pagbilao Units 1 and 2 as well as the 420-MW Pagbilao Unit 3; the 335-MW Masinloc 3; the 455-MW plant of San Buenaventura Power Ltd; the 20.8-MW Botocan plant; and the 180-MW Kalayaan Unit 4, which tripped only on Monday morning.

Prior to the typhoon, 18 power plants are already offline due to maintenance and/or running in derated capacities, bringing the total offline power plants on-grid and off-grid to 37.

According to the DOE, the total capacity on forced outage is 4,281.3 megawatts, while deration amounts to 216 MW.

This made the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) issue a red alert in the Luzon grid from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and a yellow alert from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.

“We would like to ask the cooperation of everyone to minimize the use of electricity, particularly in the Luzon grid. The typhoon caused substantial decrease in available power supply in the grid at the time when the hydropower plants have not yet recovered from their water supply,” DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said in a virtual press briefing Monday.

The DOE chief assured consumers that the agency is coordinating with energy stakeholders as they work on the restoration of power plants both on-grid and off-grid.

“While we look forward to the power supply improving in the coming days, the department encourages everyone to conserve energy in order to minimize the dispatch of more expensive oil-based power plants,” Lotilla added. (PNA)