As it is becoming apparent that the government may have been failing on its projection of ‘no red alert’ and sufficient power supply within the stretch of the summer months, the Department of Energy (DOE) is appealing to the industrial and commercial end-users in particular to pare their electricity usage during peak demand hours.

Following the declaration of red alert by system operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the DOE urged industrial and commercial customers - which are the lifeblood of the country’s economy, “to minimize the use of power during peak hours to help mitigate the impact of the supply shortage.”

The department added “no energy should be wasted while we make sure that we remain productive.”

Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla said “while we continue to monitor and ask our power plant operators to work on restoring full operations, we can maximize our energy efficiency efforts as we go through this period of extreme heat.”

He further propounded that “flexible work arrangements and other conservation measures would also be helpful.”

In addition, the DOE pleaded to the general public “to minimize the use of electricity during peak hours,” and this can be done by “turning off lights and unplugging appliances when not in use, avoiding whenever possible the use of high-energy consuming devices such aircon and elevator, which can significantly contribute to alleviating the strain on the grid.”

While consumers have been waiting with bated breath on when darkness will descend into their respective homes or businesses, the DOE and the industry players are keeping their fingers crossed that the planned activation of the interruptible load program (ILP) could spare Luzon grid from dreaded rotational brownouts.

The ILP will require establishments and entities will self-generating assets to switch on their facilities, that way, demand draw from the grid would be eased; and that in turn could save consumers depending on grid-fed supply from the dreaded descend of power service interruptions.

At least 19 electric generating units have suffered forced outages in the Luzon grid; and 12 generation fleets in the Visayas grid, but there is deafening silence on the part of the government as to the cause of the simultaneous forced shutdowns of the power plants – all while prices in the spot market have also been skyrocketing.

The DOE, in particular, lost its usual angst and had in fact been more defensive in its statement that “the extremely high temperatures have been affecting the operations of power plants in the grid.”

That is contrast to the usual disposition of the DOE and various government agencies of raising hell if the blackouts or rolling service interruptions would be ignited by glitches in the transmission facilities of NGCP.

Typically, the hydro plants have de-rated generation during the summer months; but no concrete explanations are given why the coal, gas and other power plants have also been on forced outages.

The DOE is ironically calm in its statement to the media, as it conveyed that its Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (EPIMB), “is closely monitoring and coordinating with the NGCP and all generation companies on the current power supply condition.”

It further noted that “the DOE is closely coordinating with all power stakeholders to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to minimize the impact.”