January 1, 2016 8:39 pm
The Department of
Energy (DOE) expressed concerns over the stability of fuel supply this year,
particularly during the election period, as local demand increases while world
oil prices remain unpredictable.
“Not much with
electricity, but we are more concerned with fuel supply during the campaign
period,” Energy secretary Zenaida Monsada told reporters.
She noted that
candidates were traveling from one province to another for the elections, thus
requiring consumption of more petroleum products.
Monsada said that
though power supply was seen to remain stable, there were other related
concerns due to the effects of the ongoing El Nino phenomenon.
She did not give a
definite power outlook, saying the department still has to present its
assessment and recommendation to President Benigno S. Aquino III.
Monsada gave
assurances that the department would create a task force to look into power
issues related to the forthcoming elections.
Manila Electric Co.
(Meralco), meanwhile, is more concerned on the post-election period, which is
after summer.
”The problem next
year is the generation companies are trying to avoid the scheduled shutdowns,
so part of the pressure is moved to the second half,” Meralco president and
chief executive officer Oscar Reyes said.
He explained most of
the power plant shutdowns have been scheduled for the first half of the year.
He also expects
better power supply next year as the 100-megawatt (MW) Avion and 414-MW San
Gabriel power plants will start commercial operations soon.
As to oil prices,
local firms said they could not assess when these would bounce.
“At the rate world
oil prices have been behaving, even analysts admit that no one could accurately
and consistently forecast the price of oil more than a few months ahead let
alone for years or decades in the future,” Eastern Petroleum chief executive
officer Fernando Martinez said.
PTT Philippines Corp.
said the bounce could occur if turmoil breaks in the oil exporting countries.
The oil price crash
started in the international market in 2013, when shale oil became a threat to
crude oil.
The Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which supplies most of the world’s fuel,
moved to defend its market share by reducing crude prices to compete with shale
oil.
On the local front,
the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is re-organizing posts and hiring more
people in a bid to improve operations.
ERC commissioner Jose
Vicente Salazar said the agency would hire 508 more people “to strengthen legal
offices, services and elevate divisions to create services.”
Field offices are
also included in the enhancement program.
Salazar added the
commission was also planning to upgrade its IT infrastructure, which would help
stakeholders submit documents through the internet.
The ERC has created a
technical working group (TWG) for the project, which will be helped by experts
from the World Bank.
Salazar noted that
the bank wanted to fund the project but the ERC declined and instead requested
for technical assistance.
The ERC is targeting
to complete the project study in 3-4 months from its planned start in January.
Meanwhile, National
Power Corp. (Napocor) is set to provide off-grid or Small Power Utilities Group
(SPUG) areas with 62 more generator sets this year.
Napocor currently has
290 SPUG power plants in islands, powering 800,000 households.
The National
Electrification Administration (NEA) also reported that its Sitio
Electrification Program (SEP), which targets to power 32,441 sitios by the
first quarter of 2016, is on track.
In November, NEA
electrified a total of 30,023 sitios.
Last year, the DOE
also conducted the Philippine Energy Contracting Rounds 5 (PECR-5) for
petroleum in June and the Open and Competitive Selection Process (OCSP) for
potential hydro and geothermal project sites last May.
The PECR-5 had a low
turnout with two firms qualifying for three petroleum blocks, while the OCSP
had better results with 31 bids for 14 hydro sites and eight bids for two
geothermal prospects.
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