Luzon May Experience Yellow, Red Alerts in the Following Weeks, Says DOE

Red and yellow alerts may again be experienced in Luzon in the coming weeks as several power plants will conduct preventive maintenance, the Department of Energy said on Thursday.

DOE Electric Power Industry Management Bureau director Mario Marasigan said told the Senate Committee Energy that several power plants would push through with their scheduled maintenance works, including the Ilijan Block A on June 24.

Other power plants that will simultaneously conduct preventive maintenance in the coming weeks are GMEC Unit 1, Sual Unit 1 and Pagbilao 2, he added.

"Having these numerous plants conducting their preventive maintenance on the forthcoming weeks, then definitely meron tayong potential na magkaroon hindi lang ng yellow alert but red alert," Marasigan said.

Marasigan said that the series of red and yellow alerts would not necessarily translate to rotational brownouts, as what was experienced earlier this month. The DOE, he said, is aggressively promoting energy efficiency and conservation measures to prevent brownouts.

DOE USec. Wimpy Fuentebella also suggested that the easiest way to prevent rotational brownouts is to move the scheduled preventive maintenance of the power plants to a future date.

Park Bumki, who represents Kepco Ilijan Corp. operating the Ilijan power plant, said they could postpone their scheduled preventive maintenance for one week.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian directed the DOE to get assurance from the operators of the Pagbilao power plant to push back their maintenance schedule as well.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi earlier said the rotational brownouts experienced in Luzon on May 31 and June 1 were ultimately caused by forced and unplanned outages of several major power plants.

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This story originally appeared on Reportr.world.

* Minor edits have been made by the Realliving.com.ph editors.