National Grid not withholding supply

by Alena Mae S. Flores


System operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines on Friday denied it is keeping excess power to simulate a power shortage in Mindanao.


National Grid in a statement also dismissed reports that the company was not fully utilizing capacities from the hydropower plants on the island.


“It does not benefit us to withhold supply as NGCP cannot have a direct or indirect stake or interest in the generation and distribution businesses,” Cynthia Alabanza, National Grid spokesman and adviser for external affairs, said.


The company reiterated the power outages in Mindanao were due to the shortage of supply in the region and not any transmission-related issue.


National Grid’s monitoring showed that Mindanao was still short of 165 megawatts as of Friday, with system capacity at 1,074 MW as against peak demand of 1,239 MW.


Alabanza said the Electric Power Industry Reform Act prohibits NGCP from having any interest in generation and distribution. She said National Grid’s mandate was limited to the maintenance, expansion and improvement of the nationwide transmission backbone.


“The generation and the distribution of electricity are functions that are legally and physically beyond NGCP’s control,” Alabanza said.


(Published in the Manila Standard Today newspaper on /2012/March/17.)