By Lenie Lectura - February 18, 2020
THE National Electrification
Administration (NEA) has called on all electric cooperatives (ECs) in Luzon and
Visayas to prepare their respective contingency plans to mitigate the impact of
power-supply deficiency during summer months.
The agency said ECs must implement
demand-side management programs and maximizing embedded power plants to reduce,
if not eliminate, rotating brownouts during peak hours.
Embedded power plants are
those that are not directly connected to the power grid, but still supply
power to a specific area.
In Luzon, five ECs—Ilocos Norte
Electric Cooperative Inc., Isabela I Electric Cooperative Inc., Isabela II
Electric Cooperative, Zambales II Electric Cooperative Inc. and Sorsogon II
Electric Cooperative Inc.—have embedded power plants with a combined capacity
of 11.696 megawatts (MW).
In Visayas, three power distribution
utilities—Cebu I Electric Cooperative Inc., Bohol I Electric Cooperative Inc.
and Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative Inc.—have embedded mini-hydro power
plants with a total capacity of 10.42 MW.
“We have already advised ECs that do
not have embedded power plants to initiate demand-side management programs,
wherein the ECs will work with big electricity consumers in order for them to
reduce their usage when demand is high or when an alert level is issued,” said
NEA.
NEA has also recommended that ECs
implement load curtailment or load shedding in their respective coverage areas
when necessary.
Affected ECs are also directed to
encourage large establishments with standby generating capacities to
participate in the interruptible load program. Under this program, big consumers
will be asked to run their embedded standby generating sets during peak hours
instead of obtaining their supply from power distribution utilities.
Earlier, the Department of Energy
(DOE) raised concerns about the tight supply of electricity, and that the
public is warned of yellow and red alerts starting April.
DOE estimates that red alerts may be
issued from April 18 to 21 and May 20 to 22, and that an additional capacity of
256 MW to 821 MW is needed in Luzon power grid to avoid the yellow or red alert
in the region.
A yellow alert is issued when power
supplies are low but may not lead to power outages, while a red alert is issued
when the power supply in power grids is insufficient, and may result in
rotational brownouts or manual load dropping in areas covered by particular
grids.
“Conserving electricity is the
responsibility of every consumer, and should be done all throughout the
year—but this is even more important every summer, when power consumption peaks
due to the heavy use of air conditioners and similar appliances during these
warmer months. We encourage the public to do their part to help reduce
electricity consumption, especially during peak hours, by turning off unused
lights, unplugging idle devices, setting air conditioners at a reasonably
comfortable temperatures and using energy-efficient appliances,” said NEA.
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