Mindanao power supply drops

Business World Online
Posted on July 22, 2015 11:19:00 PM

DAVAO CITY -- The Mindanao grid’s power supply has worsened since the weekend, posting a 225-megawatt (MW) deficit as of Wednesday as water levels continued to drop at the Agus and Pulangi hydroelectric complexes.

The grid’s system capacity, based on the National Grid Corporation of the Philippine’s (NGCP) Web site, stood at 1,108 MW while peak demand was 1,333 MW.

The Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee, the multi-sectoral group that monitors the energy industry on the Philippines’ second largest island, reported on Tuesday afternoon that the water level of Lake Lanao, which powers the Agus plant, has gone down to near the minimum operating level of 699.15 meters above sea level (masl) at 699.24 masl.

In Pulangi, located in Bukidnon, the water level at Pulangi 4 was at 280.4 masl, four meters lower than the normal operating point.

The monitoring committee reported that the Pulangi plant is currently able to supply only 20 MW out of its rated capacity of 250 megawatts, “largely on account of siltation.”

Supplies were further reduced over the weekend after one of the two coal-fired 105-MW units of Steag State Power, Inc. in Misamis Oriental and the 110-MW Mt. Apo geothermal plant in Kidapawan City were shut down for maintenance.

The Steag plant is scheduled to return to go online on Aug. 16 while the geothermal facility is expected to be completed by July 27.

The 150-MW additional capacity from Therma South, Inc.’s new coal-fired power plant in the Davao Region that was expected to go online into the main grid by late June or early July remains under the synchronization process.

The synchronization process requires a stable power supply in the main grid, but company officials declined to confirm that this is causing the delay.

BROWNOUTS IN CITIES
The supply deficit has prompted rotational power cuts in Mindanao’s major cities.

Impact has been worst in Zamboanga City in the west, which has already been experiencing up to eight-hour brownouts since early this year.

As of yesterday, the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Zamcelco) had scheduled cuts lasting from five to nine hours.

In an advisory issued July 21, Zamcelco cited reduced supply due to maintenance work on the plants of Mapalad Power Corp. and Therma Marine, Inc. (TMI) besides those of Steag, Agus and Pulangi.

The Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company, Inc. (Cepalco), which distributes electricity in parts of Misamis Oriental, including the Northern Mindanao hub Cagayan de Oro City and the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate, is implementing four-hour brownouts until July 26.

No interruptions were scheduled by the South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SOCOTECO II), which serves General Santos City and the provinces of South Cotabato and Sarangani in Central Mindanao.

SOCOTECO II’s power supply has been boosted by the dedicated 20.9-MW bunker-fired plant of Peakpower Soccsargen, Inc., a subsidiary of Peakpower Energy, Inc., which started operations in November last year.

In Davao City, considered as the main gateway and has the highest power demand in Mindanao, electricity distributor Davao Light and Power Co. (Davao Light) has increased the rotational outages to two hours a day from only one at the start of the week.

In a press statement, Davao Light, an Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) subsidiary, said its daily demand could reach 325 MW, which is more than the available supply from the grid and its backup sources.

Davao Light has about 120 MW of alternative power sources, including 40-MW from its own standby plant in the city, 50 MW of hydropower from sister company Hedcor, Inc., and 30 MW from TMI, another AboitizPower firm, which operates two power barges. -- Carmelito Q. Francisco source