Manila Bulletin
By Myrna Velasco
January 6, 2014
Manila, Philippines — The gas supply restriction on power plant users as imposed by Malampaya field operator Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) beginning last weekend is expected to trigger a new round of increases in the rates of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco).
An advisory from Meralco operations said the move resulted in the reduction in the generation capacity of the 1,500-megawatt Sta. Rita and Lorenzo gas plants of First Gen and the 1,200-MW Ilijan plant which is operated by Korea Electric Power Corporation.
“The effect was to limit First Gas to only 1,030MW; and Ilijan to 672MW,” Meralco stressed, adding that “the subsequent impact of it would be higher rates again for the consumers.”
Gas supply restriction from the Malampaya field was imposed by SPEX starting at 10:30 p.m. last Saturday.
The constrained gas supply of SPEX, Meralco added, “will be a continuing dilemma and is expected to persist up to January 9, 2014.”
‘Operational Problem’
In a mobile call to the Manila Bulletin, Shell Vice President Roberto S. Kanapi divulged that the gas field experienced “operational problem at the platform and it is currently being assessed and investigated…we will inform our customers accordingly.”
He said “a technical team of engineers has been assessing and working to resolve the problem” and that the Department of Energy (DOE) and its customer-power plants “are being informed on updates on the status of gas supply.”
Meralco has started informing its customers on the factors affecting its supply so that when its rates substantially climb again, they will know the real situation even before their bills would reach their doorsteps.
The gas plants provide the bulk of the supply for Meralco as they are among the utility firm’s contracted capacities. Lower dispatch of the generation facilities due to limited gas from Malampaya will exert pressure on power supply, leading to higher prices.
In a text message, First Gen Senior Vice President Victor Emmanuel Santos confirmed that the load of Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo gas plants was down to just 1,000 megawatts as of the weekend.
Asked what advisory First Gen had gotten from its supplier on the constricted gas supply, Santos noted “no certainty yet…we are still waiting for formal notice from SPEX.”
Maintenance Shutdown
The Malampaya gas production facility just completed a month-long maintenance shutdown from Nov. 11-Dec. 10, 2013 and it partly caused the P4.15 per kilowatt hour (kWh) rate hike of Meralco that was slapped with a temporary restraining order (TRO) by the Supreme Court.
During that period, the gas plants had to shift to liquid fuels like biodiesel and condensate which are more expensive than the Malampaya natural gas.
The power generation companies are now suffering from “deferred payment predicaments” on cost difference from that fuel shift because of the SC ruling.
Generation Charge
In a separate development, Commissioner Josefina Patricia M. Asirit of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) advised that the implementation of the P7.37 per kWh capped generation charge for Meralco this January will be discussed anew because of another TRO petition pending at the high court which was reportedly questioning such.
“We are mindful of the fact that the TRO does not cover January. However, the situations for both billing periods are the same,” the ERC official said.
The matter, she added, will be discussed this week “whether or not Meralco will be allowed to bill this January according to its actual generation cost or based on the ERC order (on capped rates) or extend the spirit of the TRO.”
On the Commission’s investigation of the power plants’ alleged collusion, Asirit noted “we may have updates within the week, but it will not be the final recommendation yet.”
The first Commission meeting of the regulatory body has similarly been moved to Jan. 13, 2014 a week later compared to an earlier advisory of Jan. 6.
Brownouts
Given the confluence of events affecting overall power supply, Meralco already informed the Department of Energy (DOE) that it may resort to manual load dropping (MLD) or supply curtailment which could then result in brownouts for its customers.
The power utility firm said it might be compelled to cut down its supply procurement from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) because of the prevailing payment deferment to its power suppliers, resulting from the Supreme Court’s restraining order on its rate hike.
Collusion
Meanwhile, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares yesterday castigated the government and local power agencies for conditioning the minds of the public that there is no collusion among power generators when there are indicators that supposedly show the opposite.
Perhaps the most telling among the indicators is the delayed release of the tripartite commission’s findings on the collusion probe, the deadline of which lapsed on Dec. 30, Colmenares said.
Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla earlier formed the commission composed of the DOE, ERC and Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) last month following public outrage over the ERC-approved P4.15 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate hike to be imposed by Meralco.
“We have received reports from insiders doing the collusion probe, that they are finding it hard to release the report even if it was way pass their December 30 deadline and even if they already announced that it will be released tomorrow January 6, because of the pressure from the power cartel that the investigation should say that there is no collusion,” said Colmenares, who is a senior deputy minority leader. (With a report from Ellson Quismorio) source
No comments:
Post a Comment