By Cecilio Arillo - August 13, 2019
THE Department of Energy has set in
place a concrete action plan to solve the crippling power outages in Palawan,
one of the country’s major economic zones and tourist destinations, during a
meeting of the DOE-led Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee and Task Force
Palawan Electric Cooperative (IACC-TF Paleco) in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.
Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi
created Task Force Paleco earlier to conduct an exhaustive assessment and audit
of the power situation in the province. This included the determination of the
root causes for the frequent power outages, as well as the consolidation of all
recommendations from other concerned agencies into the Task Force’s Final
Report.
Among the findings of TF Paleco were
the uncoordinated synchronization of the protection system of Paleco and the
National Power Corp.’s transmission lines; obstructing vegetation along both
the long NPC transmission lines and Paleco distribution lines; overloaded
substations; the unstable temporary generators; derailed coal power plant; and
the slow coordination among various government agencies on distribution line
maintenance and improvements.
Palawan Gov. Jose C. Alvarez, head
of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), assured the DOE of
efficient coordination by local government units (LGUs) in securing all
relevant permits and certificates needed by Paleco.
“We are at your service,” Alvarez
said.
“We will not stop working until we
finally bring this power issue to an end,” Secretary Cusi said, directing
immediately Paleco and all relevant government agencies to carry out the
recommendations in the final report of the task force.
“The livelihood of consumers and the
operations of crucial infrastructure, such as hospitals and government offices
hang in the balance,” he said.
Secretary Cusi gave Paleco
until the end of 2019 to complete its rehabilitation.
One of the major problems identified
in the audit is the existence of a heavy vegetation problem on the NPC
transmission lines in Palawan, especially in thesouthern towns.
To solve this, the PCSD, through the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), will issue Paleco a
special permit for the transportation of the required tools and equipment to be
used for the necessary tree cutting and clearing operations. The NPC likewise
guaranteed the immediate upgrade of its line protection devices, which minimize
the effects of transmission line trippings.
For its part, the National
Electrification Administration (NEA) has activated the “Task Force Kapatid”
program, with the active participation of 10 electric cooperatives (ECs) to
help with the rehabilitation of Paleco.
Under this program, the
participating ECs will be deploying six engineers and 60 linemen to help Paleco
until October 2019. The necessary tools and equipment to effect improvements in
Paleco’s distribution system will also be provided.
Paleco had the opportunity during
the meeting to discuss the progress it has made in the implementation of the
action plan it has previously submitted to the DOE. Its presentation prompted
various public and private stakeholders to pledge their support to the local EC
and guide it toward the necessary steps to effectively and efficiently improve
the power-supply condition in Palawan.
Vice Admiral Alexander S. Lopez
(ret.), DOE undersecretary, led the presentation of the IACC-TF Paleco,
together with Assistant Secretary Redentor E. Delola and DOE-Electric Power
Industry Management Bureau Director Mario C. Marasigan.
PCSD Executive Director Nelson P.
Devanadera and representatives from NEA, NPC, DENR, as well as officials from
LGUs, nongovernment organizations, and the Western Command of the Armed Forces
of the Philippines also attended the meeting.
“As members of the energy
family, it is our primary duty to provide reliable, stable and affordable
electricity services to our countrymen. Help will always be given to those in
need of it. However, we must also ensure that those of us in the energy sector
are serving our people in the best manner at all times,” Cusi emphasized.
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