Brownout? Here's How to Know You're Not Alone in Misery
NGCP issued a Red Alert warning today.
(SPOT.ph) As if the heat in Metro Manila isn't enough to melt our Monday brains, several areas have reported power outages today, May 8, at around 1 p.m. Don't worry, you're not alone in this misery of an aircon- or fan-less afternoon.
Meralco Brownout and Power Outage Announcement
"Your power supply may have been affected by a temporary system imbalance due to a sudden plant outage and may last for 10-15 minutes. Identification of affected areas is ongoing," @meralco said in a Tweet at 1:11 p.m.
The electric power distribution company later announced that, according to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, there is a lower power supply in the Luzon Grid. "This is due to insufficient operating reserve brought about by power plant outages," they explained.
On May 8, Luzon Grid is on Red Alert from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; and on Yellow Alert from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
What does Red Alert, Yellow Alert mean?
Brownouts happen when the power supply coming from power plants are not enough to meet the electricity demand in an area. In this case, the Luzon grid is on Red Alert, which means power is insufficient and there is a very high possibility of rotational brownouts. During a Red Alert, vital institutions like hospitals, trains, airports, and public stations are given priority for the power supply.
Yellow Alert, which is right between Red Alert and White Alert, means the power reserves are still low. White Alert, which is not anymore announced as it's the status quo, means there is a sufficient power supply.
Also read:
GUIDE: Brownouts and Red, Yellow Electricity Supply Alerts
How to know about other power outages?
The Meralco app, which is available for free on Android and iOS, has a tab for "Outages and Incidents." This shows you which places that Meralco services are currently experiencing power outages, as shown by red marks. It can also show is experienced only by a specific city, barangay, or even street.
If the power outage you're experiencing is only within your locality (e.g. house or street), you also file a report through the Meralco app and follow up on the progress.
The app has a tab for "Future Outages," but that may or may not be in the very immediate future (i.e. an hour or less before the actual brownout).
ERRATUM (May 9): This article has been edited to correct the declared block times for Red Alert and Yellow Alert from NGCP.