Thursday, 19 April, 2012
THE Members of a business group at the Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday expressed concern that the power crisis besetting Mindanao will soon hit Luzon if the government fails to speed up investing in the power industry.
Danny Piano, president of the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce, said there was growing concern among its members about the possibility of a Mindanao-like power shortage affecting Luzon.
“The Mindanao crisis is proof positive that there is shortage of power in the Philippines,” Piano said.
“To put this looming problem in perspective, imagine the majority of the 90,000 workers inside the Subic Bay Freeport out of work for hours on end during extended [blackouts].
Piano made his statement even as the state-run National Power Corp. on Thursday vowed to work double-time to rehabilitate the 26-year-old Pulangi IV hydroelectric plant in Bukidnon by May 16 to address the power shortage in Mindanao.
“All the contingency and safety measures related to the shutdown of Pulangi IV are already in place, and we will update management on the progress of the rehabilitation project,” the company said in a statement.
In the 1990s Luzon was hit by a severe power shortage resulting in blackouts lasting up to 12 hours a day. That took place mainly because President Corazon Aquino shut down the 620-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which was built to fill the power shortage it had been expected to fill, but did not order the construction of other power plants to replace it.
The government’s failure to fill the power shortage forced the administration of President Fidel Ramos to contract for power with independent power producers, resulting in very high power rates.
Mr. Piano said one of the plants re-commissioned at the time was the 100-megawatt bunker diesel plant left by the US Navy inside the Freeport that became operational in 1994.
“It is now a backup and peaking plant, meaning it usually operates only during peak periods and emergencies,” he said.
“The rates are, however, quite expensive and made even higher by the current high prices of petroleum. It will definitely increase the cost of doing business.
But even at full capacity operation, the diesel plant will not be sufficient to support the constantly increasing power needs of the Freeport and surrounding areas.”
The Energy Department has estimated that a power shortage is expected to occur starting this if no additional power generation sources become available in Luzon. It said energy consumption in the Luzon grid would increase by 4.38 percent annually over the period 2009 to 2018.
A study by a team of engineers from the University of the Philippines’ National Engineering Center agreed and predicted that blackouts in Luzon would be growing in frequency and duration if additional power was not made available.
The study says the first stage of power interruptions is already happening in some areas in Luzon, that it will increase in frequency, and that by 2014 will peak at 84 days a year of blackouts.
“The problem is already staring us in the face,” Piano said.
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