Published
April 12, 2017, 10:01 PM By Myrna M. Velasco
Post-Holy Week power
supply may finally improve with the anticipated synchronization of the
600-megawatt Ilijan Block B gas-fired power generating unit is targeted on
morning of April17 (Monday).
That has been the
assurance given by plant operator Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO) to the
Department of Energy (DOE), as the latter calls on the immediate restoration of
the earthquake-hit power facilities.
Energy Undersecretary
Felix William Fuentebella said that will ease the series of yellow and red
alert conditions that Luzon grid went through early this week due to supply
tightening – as several plants have been out from the system.
For its part, the
National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) indicated that it will be
extending assistance to the power plants that were affected at the strike of
earthquakes swarm in Batangas last April 8.
Primarily, it said that
it will be providing ‘support’ to the Lopez group for its San Gabriel power
plant, which until now cannot inject its power generation to the grid because
of damage sustained by its San Lorenzo switchyard.
The transmission firm
noted that among the affected high voltage components had been “circuit
breakers, disconnect switches and current and combined current-voltage
transformers.”
The company added its
facilities “within the vicinity of Batangas are all stable and ready to
transmit power,” while noting that “the assistance to the generation companies
will expedite the normalization of the power situation.”
In a related
development, the Department of Energy “is pushing for the speedy repairs of the
major power plants that sustained damage,” so dilemmas of power supply
tightness can be eased especially in these scorching weather months.
At this point though,
the department cannot give categorical timeframe yet on when the other affected
power plants can get back on line.
Energy Secretary
Alfonso G. Cusi noted that the department is “continuously and closely
coordinating with power industry players, especially those on the side of the
generation industry for the safe and immediate rehabilitation of the power
plants.”
One plant that is
closely being monitored is Pagbilao unit 2 that had been on extended outage due
to “boiler tube leak dilemma,” but the company-operator cannot give a
definitive date yet on its re-synchronization to the grid.
No comments:
Post a Comment