The South Cotabato Electric Cooperative I (SOCOTECO I) urged consumers in South Cotabato to conserve electricity on Thursday, Sept. 3.
The request was made as a power supply shortage prompted red and yellow alerts across the Mindanao grid and raised the possibility of rotational brownouts.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Mindanao grid under red alert from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., and yellow alert from 10 a.m. to noon, and again at 10 p.m.
In their official social media page, SOCOTECO I said the alerts were caused by forced outages and reduced capacity at several power plants, leaving available supply insufficient to meet electricity demand.
NGCP also advised that Manual Load Dropping (MLD), which can result in temporary power interruptions in selected areas, may be put in place from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
This option is intended to help maintain the stability of the Mindanao grid.
SOCOTECO I was among the electric cooperatives and power distributors identified by NGCP as potentially affected by the measure.
The cooperative said rotational brownouts may be implemented in selected areas, depending on the actual condition of the grid and instructions from NGCP.
It urged its member-consumer-owners to reduce electricity use, particularly during periods of high demand in the afternoon and evening.
NGCP said the planned load dropping can be canceled if grid conditions improve, including a situation wherein the actual electricity demand turns out lower than projected.
Aside from SOCOTECO I, the NGCP advisory covered several other electric cooperatives and distribution utilities across Mindanao.
These cooperatives are SOCOTECO II, SUKELCO, MAGELCO, COTELCO, Davao Light and Power Co. and other utilities in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Caraga and Davao regions