Power supply getting critical; DOE seeks deferment of maintenance

Manila Bulletin
by Myrna Velasco
April 11, 2014

Power supply next month will still teeter at critical levels, hence, this has been prompting the Department of Energy (DOE) to ask power plant operators if they can still defer the maintenance shutdown of their generation facilities.

And although it appears like an impossible plea given time constraint, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla indicated that until this time, they are trying to convince power generators to postpone their facility shutdowns scheduled in May – to at least June.

“The other plants, we are asking them to move their schedules…if possible those scheduled for shutdowns in May be done in June,” he stressed, noting that the government is avoiding a scenario of recurrent yellow alerts or worse, power interruptions, when peak demand hits.

In an interview transcript sent to reporters, Petilla noted that power demand levels are most critical at 10am and 2:00pm during summer; and while it surges also at 7pm, it is normally not as high as the recorded peaks in the afternoon.

To shore up supply in the interim for Luzon grid, he indicated that Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is scheduled to ink a deal with malls and other entities with self-generation facilities for an interruptible load program (ILP) this Friday (April 11).

Yet while the department has been seeking postponed repair of the power facilities, Petilla noted that they are also avoiding a situation wherein the plants would be run into the ground and such could trigger equipment damage.

“What we are actually trying to make sure at this point is for everybody to make sure that they do everything…but not to the point that it will ruin their plants…we just want to make sure that we get through summer,” the energy chief said.

Yearly peak demand typically strike during the month of May, and this was projected to be happening around second week next month by system operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.

Apart from the scheduled shutdowns, several plants had been down last week and such exerted pressure on Luzon grid’s already-tight supply.

Petilla emphasized though that he “would not want to cause any panic at this point”; and by this, he infers on probable rotating power interruptions.

“We are monitoring it and we are making sure that we remain at the most … yellow alert … and inventorying all the resources that we have and make sure that they come back right away (referring to plants on forced outages),” he noted.

He further reiterated that given dire supply conditions, spikes in electricity rates would already be an unavoidable burden for consumers these summer months. source