By Myrna M. VelascoPublished: March 30, 2013
By the energy chief’s estimate, the supply shoring up from these gensets will be 150 megawatts, but these will be coming with pricey tags.
The Department of Energy-led task force has been working double time in instituting measures that could prevent power interruptions during the mid-term elections in May.
At least, based on the assurance given by Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla, they will ensure sufficient power supply during the election week so the poll results will not be marred by brownout-related snafus.
Based on curtailment data culled from system operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, precarious Mindanao grid will be deficient of roughly 190 megawatts in May, which is the election month.
Merely referencing on supply, Luzon is seen safe from power interruptions; along with Visayas grid, except perhaps for unforeseen events in the system, such as forced shutdown of big generating units.
To preclude inevitable brownouts, the DOE along with industry stakeholders and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) are now scouring for ‘band-aid solutions’ that can momentarily power up some areas in Mindanao during the polling period.
“The government is fast-tracking measures aimed at easing the power supply situation in Mindanao,” the energy department has noted. It has yet to be seen though if that will make a difference this time; because that has been DOE’s similar rhetoric two years ago.
Not all areas in Mindanao are suffering from the reported scale of three to eight hours of power interruptions. However, the service areas of around 20 electric cooperatives are experiencing brownout predicaments.
One of the ‘quick fixes’ being worked on by the energy department is the faster ramp up of the newly-repowered Iligan diesel power facility. By May, it is expected contributing additional 30 megawatts to the grid.
The bigger capacity gap though may be plugged by the proposed deployment of modular gensets that will be channeled to the electric cooperatives suffering from interruptions.
The interruptible load program (ILP) is also on queue, with 93 megawatts already being solicited for possible supply offers to the grid.
The other scheme, which may come later, will be the Interim Mindanao Electricity Market (IMEM). It can also bring in additional capacity to the grid through trading of capacities by interested embedded generators.
The longer-term and sustainable solution for Mindanao will be the on-stream operations of greenfield power plants around 2015. Altogether, the new projects will beef up the grid’s supply by more than 500 megawatts. (MMV) source
At least, based on the assurance given by Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla, they will ensure sufficient power supply during the election week so the poll results will not be marred by brownout-related snafus.
Based on curtailment data culled from system operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, precarious Mindanao grid will be deficient of roughly 190 megawatts in May, which is the election month.
Merely referencing on supply, Luzon is seen safe from power interruptions; along with Visayas grid, except perhaps for unforeseen events in the system, such as forced shutdown of big generating units.
To preclude inevitable brownouts, the DOE along with industry stakeholders and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) are now scouring for ‘band-aid solutions’ that can momentarily power up some areas in Mindanao during the polling period.
“The government is fast-tracking measures aimed at easing the power supply situation in Mindanao,” the energy department has noted. It has yet to be seen though if that will make a difference this time; because that has been DOE’s similar rhetoric two years ago.
Not all areas in Mindanao are suffering from the reported scale of three to eight hours of power interruptions. However, the service areas of around 20 electric cooperatives are experiencing brownout predicaments.
One of the ‘quick fixes’ being worked on by the energy department is the faster ramp up of the newly-repowered Iligan diesel power facility. By May, it is expected contributing additional 30 megawatts to the grid.
The bigger capacity gap though may be plugged by the proposed deployment of modular gensets that will be channeled to the electric cooperatives suffering from interruptions.
The interruptible load program (ILP) is also on queue, with 93 megawatts already being solicited for possible supply offers to the grid.
The other scheme, which may come later, will be the Interim Mindanao Electricity Market (IMEM). It can also bring in additional capacity to the grid through trading of capacities by interested embedded generators.
The longer-term and sustainable solution for Mindanao will be the on-stream operations of greenfield power plants around 2015. Altogether, the new projects will beef up the grid’s supply by more than 500 megawatts. (MMV) source
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