Even in the face of a one-and-a-half power interruption that perturbed operations of some businesses and caused inconvenience to the public last week, both the National Power Corporation (NPC) and Manila Electric Company (Meralco) assured that there would be ample power supply; and that power delivery lines and infrastructure would be constantly in check.
"Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have more than enough power supply during the next week, from October 31 to November 6," the state-owned power company has announced.
In this stretch of considered "lowest demand period", because most of the power-intensive industries would be on lower production mode or on a total shutdown most of the days this week because of the declared legal holidays, NPC and Meralco; and even the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) which is in charge of power plant dispatch, noted that the system can hold and would be able to keep up with the fluctuation in demand levels.
There would be two long weekends this week: October 29-November 1, and November 4-6, as President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared October 31 as a non-working holiday, in observance of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day; and November 4, marking the end of the 40-day Ramadan of the Muslims.
Taking data from TransCo’s system operations department, NPC has emphasized that for that given week, the Luzon Grid will have average daily forecast peak demand of almost 5,212 MW.
"With a dependable capacity of about 6,720 MW, gross reserves in the Luzon grid will be at an average of about 1,508 megawatts (MW) per day from October 31 to November 6," it said.
After deducting the required spinning reserve, this means that the entire grid will have an excess supply of more than 628 MW everyday after its total demand would have been served, the power firm has further explained.
In the Visayas, the average daily forecast peak demand of almost 885 MW will be supplied with a dependable capacity of more than 1,072 MW a day.
Gross reserves, it noted, had been placed at about 188 MW per day during the same week.
Mindanao, on the other hand, will register average daily forecast peak demand of 933 MW; and this shall be supplied by a dependable capacity of 1,311 MW. Gross reserves for the area have been estimated at the average to almost 318 MW per day.(MMV)
