The Department of Energy (DOE) has lined up contingency measures to stem probable power service interruptions during the two-week maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya gas production facility in Feb. 4 to 18, 2023.

Primary step pushed by the energy department is the designation of a “must-run plant,” so there would be a standby power facility that can be called upon for immediate dispatch in the grid, especially when supply runs tight because of the facility’s downtime.

“A ‘must run’ status means that the concerned power plant shall supply electricity to the grid under all conditions,” the DOE explained.

Power utility giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has also been directed to beef up the capacity it can engage for the interruptible load program (ILP), so its big-ticket customers can help shave peak demand in the grid when they would utilize their own generating units.

On the part of system operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), it has been mandated to “accelerate completion of transmission lines in the Luzon grid.”

When it comes to the announcements of “red” and “yellow” alert conditions in the grid, the transmission firm has likewise been ordered to enforce this day-head at 6:00pm – because it is through such information that consumers can be properly apprised of the extent of supply tightness as well as if there would be threatening rotational load dropping or blackouts.

Another critical game plan being pursued would be to intensify campaign as well as encouragement on consumers to push energy efficiency and conservation initiatives, since this is calculated as a viable way to pare overall electricity consumption.

The energy department qualified that the 14-day gas facility shutdown “is a regular maintenance activity that has been closely coordinated with the DOE and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that the Malampaya facilities and equipment operate in a safe, reliable, and efficient manner to avoid incidents that can potentially impact the continuous supply of gas to the customer power plants.”

The agency specified that within the period, “the supply of gas will temporarily stop, and will lead the power plants to switch to alternate sources of fuel.”

This maintenance downtime, according to new Malampaya operator Prime Energy, was originally scheduled in October last year; but has been deferred to February next year “to avoid the 2022 typhoon season that can potentially cause start-up delays” -- similar to what happened in 2021 when the gas field had its last maintenance activity.

“It was a follow-up scheduled maintenance to execute work planned in 2021, which were impacted by COVID travel restrictions that prevented the deployment of foreign specialists,” the DOE emphasized.