By Lenie Lectura- March 5, 2019
THE Department of Energy (DOE)
assured the public on Monday that the country will have adequate power supply
during summer to serve the projected demand during the period despite the possibility
of declining water levels caused by El Niño.
DOE officials cited a total of
1,272.2 megawatts (MW) of new power capacity that should be available between
March and July this year. Of this, Luzon is expected to produce 571.2 MW of new
power-generating capacity, the Visayas with 300 MW and Mindanao with 401 MW.
The agency also said it has
rescheduled the maintenance shutdown of some power plants that are supposed to
go offline a week before and after the May 13 elections.
These, according to DOE Assistant
Secretary Redentor Delola, will help prevent power-interruption incidents in
the country during the summer months.
“We can say we are confident that
there will be no issue considering normal hydropower generation; even during
the election period there [will be] enough supply,” said Delola. “There’s a
directive to power plants, one week before and after election, not to conduct
maintenance work.”
During El Niño, the DOE said
the power-reserve level in the Luzon grid will be below required
dispatchable reserve levels from April 5 to June 13.
However, the grid will be in normal
condition despite the assumed reduction of hydro
capacity.
capacity.
In the Visayas, El Niño has a
minimal effect on the grid since hydro share is just 0.6 percent of total
dependable capacity.
In Mindanao, even if the hydro
plants comprise 27.5 percent of the grid’s total supply, power will remain
stable as the large coal-fired power plants will offset output from the
hydro plants.
The DOE official said with or
without El Nino, power supply during summer is seen to serve the demand of
consumers even if there will be incidents of forced power outage.
The peak demand in Luzon is expected
to hit 11,403 MW in May. Demand in the Visayas and Mindanao is
expected to peak at 2,299MW and 2,130MW, respectively, in November until
December.
“From the supply side, we can see
sufficient supply from March, April, May and June,” added Delola.
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