Manila Bulletin
by Myrna Velasco
September 20, 2014
Malacañang will likely secure the “emergency powers” it has been seeking from Congress, but as to how it will be employed to solve next year’s power supply crisis remains the “biggest puzzle” to the power industry and even to the Department of Energy.
When asked on the sidelines of the switch-on ceremony of the expanded Toledo power plant in Cebu, Energy Undersecretary Raul B. Aguilos admitted that “the procurement plans are still under study.”
He added “we are evaluating all possible options,” noting that even the proposal of bringing in the generating sets used during the Beijing Olympics is something that is not concrete at this point.
Aguilos explained that while President Aquino’s letter to Congress did not categorically state a “power crisis situation,” the energy department banked more on a condition of “imminent power supply shortage.”
The power supply situation in the Luzon grid is seen worst during the summer months – March to May – and this is the period that Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla has been batting for to be covered by the Section 71 mandate of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.
However, the variations in pronouncements of the energy chief have been raising some doubts as to “how the emergency powers will be exercised.”
Primarily, Petilla indicated that he will need additional capacity procurement of 300MW under the purview of Section 71, but later on, he wanted that buffered with additional 300MW – or for a total of 600MW.
The energy department is similarly raising mild El Niño phenomenon next year, hence, the supply required under the emergency powers may go up even higher to 800MW.
There are still no clear declarations also how the funding will be sourced or how much impact it will eventually have on the Filipino consumers.
Preliminary proposals will be to use the Malampaya fund – and the two-year coverage of the emergency powers as propounded may require subsidy of up to P6.0 billion. source
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