The National Grid Corporations of the Philippines (NGCP) warned the public on Monday, March 27, of intermittent power interruptions during the dry season.
This after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) declined NGCP’s request for their month on month extensions on ancillary services agreements during the competitive selection process.
According to NGCP, ERC rejected its Ancillary Services (AS) bids for Luzon, VIsayas, and Mindanao on March 14 to 16. NGCP is currently evaluating bids and expects to award contracts to successful bidders by April 18.
Ancillary Services Procurement Agreements (ASPA) resulting from the competitive selection process must be approved by the ERC.
“Many of NGCP’s agreements have expired. We have resorted to month to month extensions of our existing agreement to ensure the sufficiency of services while the procurement process is ongoing,” NGCP said.
“With ERC’s denial, it is vulnerable to power interruptions resulting from an artificial lack of AS. Without an existing ASPA, NGCP cannot nominate power plants to provide the critical services,” it added.
Ancillary services help generators deliver power to consumers reliably and NGCP must manage power fluctuations to ensure power quality and reliability.
If not managed properly, fluctuations can damage sensitive equipment or cause automatic load dropping if they threaten the transmission system.
“We have always conducted the procurement of AS with good faith, with the best services for the least cost as a primary motivating factor,” NGCP further explained.
“We have done much to improve the procurement process, but above all else, we must be able to provide these services. With this disappointing development, this leaves us with no other option,” it added.
NGCP said it has already written to the Department of Energy, requesting that it intervenes in the matter and prevent avoidable power outages. -Katrina Gracia Consebido/gb
