Sunday, October 12, 2014

Power gensets grid integration can cause blackouts

Manila Bulletin
October 12, 2014

Technical experts warned that any plans of ill-suited grid integration of the generating sets planned to be leased or purchased by the government could be the major factor that could trigger system-wide blackouts in Luzon next year.

Technical experts of the power industry sounded off such concerns following the release of the Department of Energy-crafted joint resolution on the grant of emergency powers for President Aquino, apparently intending to bypass all permits and grid integration assessment of the planned addition of genset capacities into the grid.

In the proposed joint Congress resolution on invoking Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), it was stipulated that “to ensure the timely commissioning, all additional generation capacities contracted… shall be exempt from all permits or licenses issued by national government and local government units.”

It was similarly stated that “any person or entity who provides additional generation capacities and the sale of said capacities under this Joint Resolution shall be exempt from the coverage of the value added tax.”

One crucial power project implementation requirement feared to be cast off in the process is the issuance of certificate of compliance (COC) by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) – a license that validates a power facility’s viability to kick-off commercial operations and its suitability to be integrated into the power grid.

ERC, while by design is an independent quasi-judicial body, is still a government-run national entity which decides on rates pass-on of power facilities, and also oversees their compliance to operational standards.

Despite the earnestness of the energy department to bring in additional genset power capacities, it is still not laying down clearly if the equivalent of grid impact studies (GIS) had also been undertaken for their integration into the grid.

There are fundamental realities to electricity system operations, and these are not even in the consciousness yet of the “emergency power” proponents. As manifested in previous incidents in the power industry, even little strains due to inappropriate integration of power plants and other relevant facilities, could plunge an entire electricity grid into massive blackouts.

The DOE and its anointed power supply contracting entity Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) had long been cautioned on these anticipated system troubles, but until now, no concrete plans in addressing these had been offered on the table.

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla previously told media that “no laws and rules in the power industry will be bypassed,” and that the intent of invoking Section 71 will just be to fast-track all permitting processes, but the submitted version of their resolution had betrayed such pronouncements.

The contracting volume propounded in the Congressional resolution would be in the range of 200 to 50MMW, to be reckoned depending on the estimated extent of supply shortage at the time of the lease or purchase of the gensets. (Myrna Velasco) source

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