Power plants in the Philippines have been suspended due to extreme heat, there is a risk of blackouts
Kyiv • UNN
The Philippines is facing an energy crisis due to a heat wave that has shut down 19 generation facilities on the main island of Luzon and put the grid on high alert, forcing the government to urge the population to reduce electricity consumption.
A heat wave in the Philippines on Tuesday forced the shutdown of power plants, putting the country at risk of blackouts and prompting the government to urge people to cut back on consumption, UNN reports citing Bloomberg.
Details
Nineteen generation facilities on the country's main island of Luzon are offline, while three others are operating at reduced capacity, the National Energy Corporation of the Philippines said in a post on its Facebook page. The report says that the power system was put on high alert for the first time in almost a year, which means that supply is considered insufficient to meet demand, the newspaper writes.
Hotter weather increases the need for electricity for fans and air conditioning systems, and makes it more difficult to prevent plants from overheating. A dozen facilities are also closed in the Visayas power grid, which is on yellow alert, meaning that the power reserve is below the threshold for contingency.
According to the Ministry of Energy, businesses and households are advised to reduce electricity consumption during peak hours.
Addendum
In January, the Philippines' weather agency said that 2024 could be one of the hottest years on record, which could put the country's power grid under strain. According to the local weather agency, the heat index, which combines air temperature and humidity, will rise to 42°C in Central Luzon on Tuesday and Wednesday.
