The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said that around two million customers were affected by rotational power interruptions on Saturday following the declaration of a red alert on the Luzon Grid.
Joe R. Zaldarriaga, Meralco spokesperson and head of corporate communications, said that customers in parts of Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Metro Manila, Pampanga, Rizal, and Quezon were affected.
Meralco implemented manual load dropping (MLD) lasting an average of 1.5 hours, starting at 2:17 p.m. on Saturday, due to the Red Alert status on the Luzon Grid.
A red alert status is triggered when the power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the regulatory requirements of the transmission grid.
"Due to the significant supply deficiency, rotational power interruptions had to be implemented across Luzon, including in Meralco's service areas, to manage the current system condition," Zaldarriaga said.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) lifted the Red Alert at 12:35 a.m. on June 2.
Zaldarriaga confirmed that all services were fully restored by 11:47 p.m. on Saturday.
"We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused by this challenging situation. We continue to proactively exhaust all demand-side management efforts to help minimize, if not avert, power interruptions," he added.
As of Sunday, Meralco said the Luzon Grid was operating under normal conditions.