| By Donnabelle L. Gatdula (The Philippine Star) Updated January 18, 2011 12:00 AM |
MANILA, Philippines - The power situation in the Visayas has greatly improved due to the operation of the wholesale electricity market in the region, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said.
“Contributing to the improvement of the power situation in the region is the operation of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) Visayas which started in December 2010,” Almendras said.
On Jan. 14, the power spot market’s operator, Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), conducted its first participants’ meeting in Cebu wherein reports indicated improvement in the Visayas grid, largely due to the contribution of embedded generators, new power plants undergoing testing and commissioning and supply coming from Luzon.
Almendras cited a report from PEMC that the occurrence of brownouts in the Visayas has also dropped due to the existence of the WESM.
“PEMC also reported that manual load dropping (MLD) incidents have decreased in view of the increased supply and low demand,” he said.
The DOE recently announced that it has formulated various mechanisms to avert any power supply problem. The operation of the WESM is part of this overall strategy.
DOE data show that Luzon and Mindanao will have critical power situations during the summer months.
Luzon needs an additional 300 megawatts to meet the 23.4-percent reserve margin for the projected 7,900-MW demand for this year.Meanwhile, Mindanao will likely have a shortage by March as the Pulangui IV hydropower plant in Maramag, Bukidnon is set to undergo preventive maintenance suspension as the region relies heavily on hydropower.
But the DOE clarified that the additional power needed in Luzon will be for reserve power so it will not result to a power interruption.
“Contributing to the improvement of the power situation in the region is the operation of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) Visayas which started in December 2010,” Almendras said.
On Jan. 14, the power spot market’s operator, Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), conducted its first participants’ meeting in Cebu wherein reports indicated improvement in the Visayas grid, largely due to the contribution of embedded generators, new power plants undergoing testing and commissioning and supply coming from Luzon.
Almendras cited a report from PEMC that the occurrence of brownouts in the Visayas has also dropped due to the existence of the WESM.
“PEMC also reported that manual load dropping (MLD) incidents have decreased in view of the increased supply and low demand,” he said.
The DOE recently announced that it has formulated various mechanisms to avert any power supply problem. The operation of the WESM is part of this overall strategy.
DOE data show that Luzon and Mindanao will have critical power situations during the summer months.
Luzon needs an additional 300 megawatts to meet the 23.4-percent reserve margin for the projected 7,900-MW demand for this year.Meanwhile, Mindanao will likely have a shortage by March as the Pulangui IV hydropower plant in Maramag, Bukidnon is set to undergo preventive maintenance suspension as the region relies heavily on hydropower.
But the DOE clarified that the additional power needed in Luzon will be for reserve power so it will not result to a power interruption.
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