The Visayas Grid was placed under yellow alert for eight hours on Thursday, May 28, due to continued thinning of power supply in the area.

The Department of Energy (DOE) said this began at 3 p.m. and will last until 10 p.m., according to a report by RH 15 Jecelle Ricafort.

Peak demand reached 2,388 megawatts; however, the available capacity is only 2,532 megawatts.

Three Visayas coal plants have been experiencing problems, resulting in a near-daily yellow alert declaration.

From 12 yesterday, the number of plants on forced outage rose to 13 since the beginning of May, while 14 others are operating at derated or limited capacity.

The DOE said it is actively coordinating with generation companies and industry stakeholders to speed up the restoration of affected facilities.

The agency has been implementing all available measures to stabilize the grid and protect citizens amid the summer heat.

A yellow alert is declared when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.

Earlier, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the agency expects the current power supply to be augmented.

The agency is presently coordinating with the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).