Monday, October 29, 2012
DAVAO CITY -- Measures are being drawn up to augment Mindanao's power generation capacity in the wake of a prolonged dry spell that is expected to worsen during summer next year, said an official of the Mindanao Development Authority (Minda).
Minda head for media and public affairs Romeo Montenegro said Monday they are looking at three options to ease the looming power shortage after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) has foreseen an El Nino to hit most parts of the country, including Mindanao.
The El Nino phenomenon will further pull down the available generating capacity of the island, which is dependent on hydropower. More than 50 percent of the power production on the island is generated from Agus and Pulangui Hydropower Plant Complex.
Montenegro said the Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee (MPMC), which is chaired by Minda, with Department of Energy (DOE) and all its adjunct agencies as members, will try to work on the short-term and long-term solutions to address the fluctuating energy situation in almost all areas in Mindanao.
"Short-term means addressing the energy shortage we have now, while long-term solution means looking at the power investments for Mindanao," he said.
As of Monday afternoon, the official said the deficit in power load averages 300 megawatts, which causes several areas in Mindanao to suffer from constant brownouts during peak hours of the day.
The shortfall is brought about by the reduced capacity of the Agus Pulangui Hydropower plant and the temporary shutdown of 200 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant operated by Steag State Power Inc. due to the ongoing preventive maintenance, which will be completed by next month.
With the power lack reaching 300 MW, only three areas in Mindanao are spared from the rotational brownouts -- the cities of Davao, Cagayan de Oro and Cotabato City. Other areas are suffering from six-hour rotational brownouts.
"During hours that we don't have brownouts, (only means) our fuel operated generators are working and that there is an incremental cost in the absence of hydro," he said.
He assured, however, that after the preventive maintenance, power deficiency is expected to get back at around 100 MW.
MPMC is also looking at three options in a bid to cushion the effect of the reduced water level in the onslaught of El Nino in order to prevent long hours of power outages next year.
On the supply side, some of the solutions being laid out by the MPMC are the reopening of the Iligan Diesel Power Plant, Interim Mindanao Electric Market (IMEM), and Interruptible Load Program (ILP).
The Iligan plant can run about 100 MW. The power supply is expected to be delivered before May of 2013.
The IMEM will tap the embedded generators of the companies and industries, which will be auctioned to the market and be made readily available to the electric cooperatives.
Montenegro said the possible power, which can be generated through IMEM, will reach up to 200 to 300 MW.
With the ILP scheme, meanwhile, companies and industries will utilize their embedded generators and will disconnect from the grid in order to lessen the power demand of Mindanao.
Montenegro said they are doing all they can to prevent the same situation in 2010, wherein Mindanao suffered from long brownouts, as Agus-Pulagui Hydroplant was only able to supply 10 percent of their capacity.
He also encouraged investors to pour in capital for renewable energy resources like wind, biomass, and solar since relying more on fuel and diesel will spell an increase in the pricing of energy. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex) source
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on October 30, 2012.
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