Rotating brownouts to hit Metro Manila, 7 provinces

Several areas in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon served by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will experience one-hour brownouts on Monday due to power shortage from its generation suppliers. The power distributor said on its Website the brownouts would last from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. "due to the insufficient generation power capacity of power generation suppliers." Areas in the following cities will experience one-hour brownouts on Monday — Quezon City, Marikina, Navotas, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Parañaque, Manila, Valenzuela, Muntinlupa, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Malabon, Makati, Pasay, San Juan, Taguig and Pateros. The provinces of Rizal, Cavite, Bulacan, Laguna, Quezon, Pampanga and Batangas would also be affected by the brownouts, the utility said.

For a detailed list and schedule of the brownouts, check Meralco's tentative brownout schedule here. Meralco said the schedules were subject to change without prior notice due to "unavoidable circumstances." On Friday, Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces in Luzon also experienced rotational brownouts due to insufficient power supply. (See: Rotating brownouts hit Metro Manila, 6 provinces) The Meralco announcement contradicted the assurance given by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), which said on Sunday the resumption of natural gas feeds to three Luzon power plants had significantly cut the likelihood of fresh brownouts this week. The NGCP claimed the Malampaya deepwater gas-to-power facility had resumed supplying to three Batangas power plants on Saturday after completing preventive maintenance work. Jesusito H. Sulit, senior adviser to the NGCP president, said at the weekend the Ilijan plant was providing 300 megawatts (MW). Its capacity is expected to climb to 600 MW today, hitting the full 1,200 MW by Wednesday. Reserves in Luzon were expected to be at 400 MW today, 600 MW by Tuesday, and 900 MW by Wednesday. Asked if power interruptions could occur this week, Sulit said it was unlikely, but added that brownouts might still occur if a plant whose capacity exceeds the day’s reserves trips. According to the NGCP Website, Luzon’s available capacity stood at 6,710 megawatts on Monday, while its peak load was at 7,042 megawatts, or a deficit of 332 megawatts. — Johanna Camilla Sisante/RSJ/NPA, GMANews.TV