February 17, 2020 | 10:46 pm By
Victor V. Saulon Sub-Editor
THE National
Electrification Administration (NEA) told electric cooperatives (ECs) to
prepare for possible rotational brownouts in April and May when the power
supply deficiency is projected to reach up to 821 megawatts (MW) in Luzon.
“DoE (Department of
Energy) estimates that red alerts may be issued from April 18 to 21 and May 20
to 22, and that an additional capacity of 256 MW to 821 MW is needed in the
Luzon power grid to avoid the yellow or red alert in the region,” said NEA
Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong in a briefing on Monday at the agency’s
head office in Quezon City.
The projected power supply deficiency is a result of increased demand during
the hot months when hydro-electric power plants are also producing at lower
capacity because water elevation declines, he said.
“In light of this, the
NEA has advised all electric cooperatives in Luzon and the Visayas to prepare
their respective contingency plans to mitigate the impact of potential power
supply deficits in their respective areas,” Mr. Masongsong said.
Grid operator National
Grid Corp. of the Philippines issues a yellow alert notice when power supply is
low but may not lead to power outages. It issues a red alert notice when supply
is insufficient and may result in rotational brownouts.
“Apart from this, the
NEA has also recommended various measures that ECs may adopt to help them
address this potential problem. These include adopting demand-side management programs
and maximizing embedded power plants to reduce, if not eliminate, rotating
brownouts during peak hours,” Mr. Masongsong said.
Embedded power
generating units are indirectly connected to the grid through the distribution
system that supplies power to the power plants’ host distribution utility.
Five electric
cooperatives in Luzon have embedded power plants with a combined capacity of
11.696 MW. In the Visayas, three ECs have embedded mini-hydro power plants with
a total capacity of 10.42 MW.
Mr. Masongsong said the
agency had advised electric cooperatives that do not have embedded power plants
or generators to work with big electricity consumers for them to reduce their
usage when demand is high or when an alert notice is issued.
“Affected ECs are also directed to encourage large establishments with stand-by
generating capacities to participate in the interruptible load program, or ILP.
Under this program, big consumers will be asked to run their embedded stand-by
generating sets during peak hours instead of obtaining their supply from power
distribution utilities,” he said.
Mr. Masongsong also
called on ECs to develop their own embedded power plants even with small
capacities, up to a maximum of 1 MW, using renewable energy sources such as
hydroelectric or solar to help mitigate power shortages.
NEA is mandated to
pursue total electrification through the 121 electric cooperatives under its
supervision.
After the briefing, Mr.
Masongsong gave his side on the move from the National Association of
Electricity Consumers for Reforms, Inc. (Nasecore) asking Energy Secretary
Alfonso G. Cusi in a letter dated Feb. 10 to recommend the NEA administrator’s
removal from office for alleged grave abuse of authority.
Nasecore claims that
his issuances were without prior authorization from the NEA board of
administrators as required by law. One issuance raised the salaries of EC
general managers allegedly to gain their support for the electoral campaign of
four party-list representatives in Congress.
Mr. Masongsong said
Nasecore must first prove that he had abused his authority as NEA
administrator. He added that all the issuance of NEA, especially on policy
issues, had been approved by the agency’s board of administrators, which is
chaired by Mr. Cusi.
“I’ll prepare an answer
kahit hindi pa ako pinapasagot ni (even if I haven’t been asked to reply
by) Secretary Cusi. I’ll prepare an answer addressed to Sec. Cusi,” he told
reporters.
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