A BUSINESSMAN on Friday expressed alarm over the daily two-to-four-hour blackouts in Mindanao and parts of the Visayas, saying the power outages were bad for business.
Raul Concepcion, head of the watchdog group government Watch and chairman of appliance maker Concepcion Industries Inc., said he had received reports from typhoon-and-earthquake-ravaged Iloilo, Cebu , Cagayan de Oro and Davao that those areas had been suffering daily rolling blackouts.
“I realize that the local government units and other government agencies are still conducting relief and search operations in these areas, he said.
“However, summer is fast approaching and the situation might worsen if government does not move fast in this regard.”
Concepcion said the business establishments and residents in Mindanao were worried that the power outages might extend up to 8 hours daily if drought again hit the island.
Mindanao suffered severe power outages in the summer of 2010 when drought sank the water levels on the island’s dams that feed the hydroelectric plants. Those power plants supply more than 50 percent of the grid’s power requirements.
“I am optimistic that, if we work together, we can find a quick solution to the situation and help our countrymen in these areas to cushion the impact of these brownouts and also the ever increasing cost of oil,” Concepcion said.
The Energy Department has already raised the possibility that Mindanao’s power shortage may worsen during summer, when demand goes up and the high temperature affects the ability of the hydroelectric plants to deliver electricity at full capacity. Alena Mae S. Flores
(Published in the Manila Standard Today newspaper on /2012/March/3.)
No comments:
Post a Comment