Philippines Says Power Outages Hit Parts of Main Luzon Island

(Bloomberg) -- Power outages affected parts of the Philippines’ main Luzon island on Monday after a transmission line and a power plant tripped, the Department of Energy said.

The agency said the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines has put the Luzon grid on red alert from 2 pm to 4 pm and from 7 pm to 8 pm, meaning power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand.

“Some areas are now experiencing short power interruptions,” the energy department said in a statement, adding it’s seeking explanation from the grid operator on the cause of the outages. 

The grid operator suspended the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market in Luzon to “shield the public from volatile prices” that may arise as some power plants become unavailable.

The main island has been placed on red alert after a 230-kilovolt transmission line and the 618-megawatt Masinloc plant in Zambales province, north of the capital Manila, had tripped, the energy department said.

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