Coal-fired plants generating hundreds of MWs are expected to return to service within two weeks, helping relieve tight supply conditions on the Philippines' Visayas grid after the system operator declared red and yellow alerts again on August 24, local media reported.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines issued a red alert from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and yellow alerts during surrounding hours, with 919 MW of capacity unavailable and 27 power plants on forced outage. Major coal facilities TVI 1, TVI 2 and KSPC 1 remain offline, while power imports from Mindanao are limited. Available capacity was forecast at 2.32 GW against peak demand of 2.43 GW.

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said TVI Unit 2 with 169 MW and KEPCO SPC Power Corp. with 105 MW would return to service within the week. TVI Unit 1 and Cebu Energy Development Corp. Unit 1 are expected back in September, adding further capacity.

The Department of Energy has also directed the grid operator to integrate about 250 MW from battery energy storage systems in Iloilo, Negros, Cebu and Leyte to help balance the system. Garin said connecting the storage projects could reduce yellow and red alerts in the Visayas by at least 50% once operational.