Barangay Sto. Cristo, Quezon City resident Marie Louise Cacapit and her child spent the night inside their car because of the power interruption in their area.
“Sa sasakyan kami natulog para malamigan lang. Wala na ngang tubig wala ng kuryente napakinit pa ng panahon, maiiyak kana sa sobrang init, (We slept in the car just to cool ourselves off. There’s no water, no power and then with this heat)” she said.
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Residents in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon experienced a three-hour power outage, according to National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
Carmelito Inocencio, also a resident of Barangay Sto. Cristo Quezon City slept on the floor because of the extreme heat.
“Sobra talabang init grabe talag, sa sahig na ako umano—sa semento para mahanginan, dito ako malamigan, (It was too hot, I slept on the floor just to feel the cold)” he said.
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Thousands of residents in Metro Manila and other provinces in Luzon region including Caloocan, Parañaque, and parts of Bulacan and Cavite were affected by the three-hour power interruption.
National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) declared a red alert status on Friday (April 12) for 13 hours, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
NGCP’s data showed that power demand peaked at 10,334 megawatts while the available capacity is only 10,220 megawatts.
The Manila Electric Company (Meraclo) will have three-hour rotational power interruption for its customers to compensate for the low power reserve.
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Meralco Spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said there is not enough power reserves.
“Ngayon negative, ibig sabihin wala na talaga tayong mapagkukunang reserba. In fact, deficiency na tayo. Kapag sinabing red alert it means wala ka nang makukuhang reserba para punuan ang pagkukulang, (Now it’s negative. Meaning we have no reserves. In fact, there is a deficiency [in supply]. Red alert means there are no more reserves to fill the demand)” he said.
According to the Department of Energy (DOE) they did not expect the power supply situation to reach the red alert status.
DOE Spokesperson Usec. Felix William Fuentebella said four power plants already shutdown.
“Nagkaroon ng shutdown, nadagdag itong planta na bumigay. So apat na planta plus this on 150MW lumala sitwasyon, (Another power plant shut down. So from four power plants that shutdown plus this one. The situation is getting worse)” he said.
The energy department expects a new alert status by Saturday (April 13).
They also hope that the power situation in the Luzon region will become normal by Wednesday (April 17), when some power plants are expected to resume operations after their temporary shutdown.—Aileen Cerrudo (with reports from Joan Nano)
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