The Visayas grid was placed on yellow alert again on Wednesday as power reserves dipped to critical levels, according to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
The yellow alert was raised from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and again from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., indicating that operating reserves were thin and the grid was at risk of power interruptions if any major plant tripped.
The NGCP attributed the reduced reserves to the forced outage of several power plants and the derating of others. As of Wednesday afternoon, available capacity was 2,599 megawatts (MW) against a peak demand of 2,511 MW, leaving a slim margin of only 88 MW.
The grid operator urged consumers to use electricity efficiently to help ease the strain on the system. It also noted that it was coordinating with power plant operators to bring more units online.
This marks the third yellow alert in the Visayas grid this month, highlighting ongoing challenges in power supply reliability in the region.