THE Department of Energy (DOE) yesterday called for public cooperation to minimize use of electricity following the substantial decrease of available power supply in Luzon amid the typhoon.

In a virtual press conference, DOE Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla encouraged everyone to conserve energy to minimize the dispatch of more expensive oil-based power plants.

Lotilla said the DOE has been working on the improvement of the power supply for the coming days. “We would like to ask everyone’s cooperation to minimize the use of electricity in Luzon Grid.

The typhoon caused substantial decrease in the available power supply in the grid at the time when the hydropower plants have not recovered from low water supply,” Lotilla said.

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

The Energy Secretary also encouraged commercial industrial consumers to participate in the interruptible load program as he said the oil-based powerplants have been utilized as temporary power source to Luzon grid in the absence of the hydro powerplants.

“The oil-based powerplants however, have been useful in so far as providing power to the grid, particularly in the absence of the hydro powerplants. Commercial industrial consumers are being encouraged to continue to participate in the interruptible load program,” he said.

Lotilla also said the 1200 MW Ilihan Powerplant was shut down last May 25, 2024 due to its disconnection and relocation along with the Pagbilao units 1 and 2 (with a total capacity of 764MW) and unit 3 with a capacity of 420MW.

The Masinloc 3, with a capacity of 335MW, was also shut down along with the San Buenaventura with a capacity of 455MW. The Botocan, with a capacity of 20.8MW, also went on outage due to the typhoon last May 26, 2024.

Meanwhile, the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. assured the public on Monday that electricity supply will soon be restored in areas affected by Typhoon Aghon after damaged power lines were fixed by power distributors and local governments.

“The Task Force on Energy Resiliency has also been monitoring the efforts of the plants na bumabalik. So kailangan lang ma-synchronize kasama ‘yung mga linya,” Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said in a virtual press conference at the DOE.

“So were’ monitoring this closely… parang makakabalik naman siya kasi the plants are okay, its more of the lines coming in naman ang nagiging issue. But rest assured everyone is working on this. Team work tayo para mabalik kaagad and the good thing is as mentioned by the Secretary (Lotilla) the efficient use of electricity will also contribute a lot,” he pointed out.

According to Fuentebella, the team work is not only for the linemen and power plant managers but also for the general public who now enjoy cooler weather, which will reduce energy consumption.

Energy officials said nine power plants were affected by Typhoon Aghon, shutting down their capacity to supply electricity due to the weather disturbance. A total of 23 power plants were not generating power, with 12 already shut down before the typhoon struck because they are either derated or offline.

In a statement, the Department of Energy (DOE) asks for cooperation from the public to use electricity efficiently in the Luzon grid, particularly after the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) issued a Red Alert notice from 4 p.m. – 10 p.m. and Yellow Alert from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. – 11 p.m. today.

Total capacity on forced outage is 4,281.3 MW while deration amounts to 216 MW.

Typhoon Aghon has caused a substantial decrease in available power supply in the grid at a time when the hydro power plants have not yet recovered from their low water supply, the agency said.

While the power supply is expected to improve in the coming days, the DOE encourages everyone to conserve energy in order to minimize dispatch of the more expensive oil-based power plants.

Commercial and industrial consumers are also encouraged to continue to participate in the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) of their distribution utilities, particularly Meralco.

Since Typhoon Aghon entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) last May 25, the 1,200 MW Ilijan power plant was on shutdown as its Floating Storage Unit (FSU) had to be disconnected and relocated for safety reasons.

On May 26, Pagbilao Units 1 and 2 with a total capacity of 764 MW and Unit 3 with a capacity of 420 MW went on shutdown due to the typhoon. PCO