Mindanao planner acts on power summit proposals

Business World Online

Posted on May 04, 2012 08:09:49 PM

THE MINDANAO Development Authority (MinDA) has started acting on recommendations made during last month’s Mindanao Power Summit, the state planner said in a statement from Davao City on Friday.

Specifically, MinDA will soon form a Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee (MPMC) that will inform the public on the power situation, including supply and price levels, as well as assess viability of specific summit recommendations, including the setting up of a one-stop shop processing center to speed up approval of generation projects.

MPMC, which will be led by MinDA, will also be composed of representatives from the Energy department, local governments, the Mindanao chapter of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, electricity cooperatives, the Mindanao Electric Power Alliance and civil society groups.

"The main goal is to be able to complete set-up of small hydro plants within 10 months to one year," the statement read.

"Awarding of service contracts for hydro project applications currently takes years to be processed."

The statement also quoted MinDA Board member Vicente T. Lao, who also heads the Mindanao Electric Power Alliance, as saying there should be a "maximum" of six months for approval of applications for power projects.

Other recommendations include upgrading operational hydro plants to increase generating capacity and exploring other energy sources.

The Web site of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines showed that Mindanao was estimated on Friday to have a total capacity of 974 megawatts against peak demand of 1,087 MW, yielding a 113 MW power deficit.

The situation still pales in comparison to what transpired during the drought of 2010, when Mindanao suffered deficits of over 500 MW.

Hydro plants provide over half of Mindanao’s electricity needs.   source