Low risk of blackouts in summer, May polls

With the onset of the La Niña weather pattern, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) expects lower chances of power outages next year, especially during the summer and election season.

- By BRIX LELIS

"If you look at the weather now, according to PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) as well, La Niña has already started to enter (the country)," said Isidro Cacho Jr., IEMOP head of trading operations.

La Niña is characterized by unusually cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. This is the opposite of El Niño, which causes unusually warmer than normal SSTs.

“Based on the latest projection, we don’t foresee any red or yellow alerts for next summer. So, at least, I think that’s good news,” Cacho said.

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