DESPITE the warmer summer season brought about by El Niño phenomenon causing high demand for electricity, power transmission utility National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said systems remain reliable.
It did not encounter major transmission-related issues throughout the summer period where power demand was peak, the company said in a press statement.
Data from the NGCP showed that the highest peak load for the year was recorded on June 21, at 11,344 megawatts (MW) with additional 246 MW Interruptible Load Program (ILP) implementation.
This was 468 MW higher than last year's peak of 10,876 MW. However, it is slightly lower than 11,403 MW projected demand of the Department of Energy (DOE) for 2019.
The utility said with the DOE's forecast breaching 11,000 MW, it worked round-the-clock to ensure the reliability of its systems and to avoid any issues during this critical period.
"We constantly coordinated with other industry players including power generating plants, market operator, and the DOE to fully mitigate the impact of the record-breaking demand for power and the limited generating capacity of plants," the NGCP said.
To further mitigate the supply-demand balance, it campaigned for energy use efficiency in national, local, and social media channels, it added.
The system condition is expected to improve as the rainy season started. But until the situation normalizes, more grid alerts may be issued.
The NGCP appealed to the public to maintain efficient use of energy.
"Now that the summer season is officially over, this does not mean that we should stop implementing energy saving measures," it said, adding: "Let us make it a part of our lifestyle to be wise electricity consumers so that we can do our part in ensuring improved power flow within the grid."
Moreover, the transmission utility said Visayas and Mindanao still have to reach their peak demand for the year.
For 2019, the DOE projects an 11.98 percent increase in the Visayas load growth with forecasted peak at 2,299 MW.
In Mindanao, meanwhile, the demand is estimated at 2,130 MW.
The peak in both areas is expected during the last quarter of the year.
The NGCP has assured its stakeholders that it is continuously improving, expanding and reinforcing the power grid to accommodate additional loads from power generators and enable better transmission of power across the country. (EPN)