By Jordeene B. Lagare July 27, 2020
ELECTRICITY demand in the
Philippines peaked at 15,581 megawatts (MW) in 2019, up by 5.4 percent from a
year ago, according to the Department of Energy (DoE).
In its 2019 Power Situation Report,
the DoE said last year’s peak demand was higher than the 14,782 MW recorded in
2018.
Citing data from the system
operator, the Luzon grid took the lion’s share at 11,344 MW, or 72.8 percent of
the total demand. This was an increase of 4.3 percent from 10,876 MW.
The Visayas grid registered a peak
demand of 2,224 MW, representing 14.3 percent of the 2019 peak demand. It was
8.3-percent higher from 2018’s 2,053 MW.
Meanwhile, the Mindanao grid
contributed 2,013 MW, or 12.9 percent, to last year’s peak demand. It was up by
8.6 percent from 1,853 MW.
The country’s gross domestic product
(GDP) fell to an eight-year low of 5.9 percent in 2019 on the back of budget
impasse, which resulted in delays in the implementation of government programs
and projects.
Although the GDP in the fourth
quarter of 2019 climbed to 6.4 percent, it was still not enough to meet the
target economic growth ranging from 6.0 percent to 6.5 percent.
“Nonetheless, historical data has
shown that when the Philippines experienced an expanding economy or a positive
GDP growth rate, that expansion was directly proportional to electricity
consumption. Therefore, correlating the relationship between the two, a
continuous GDP growth entailed a consistently rising demand in electricity,”
the DoE said in the report.
Total electricity sales and
consumption grew by 6.3 percent to 106,041 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2019 from
99,765 GWh of the previous year.
Residential sector accounted for the
largest consumption at 28.8 percent, followed by industrial (26.6 percent) and
commercial (24 percent).
The industrial sector is the sole
sector whose annual growth rate took a downswing from its rapid increase of 7.9
percent in 2018 down to only 2.2 percent in 2019.
The DoE said the segment’s decline
can be attributed to the slowdown in public construction at the start of 2019
as a result of the delayed approval of the 2019 national budget and the 45-day
public works ban due to the national and local elections last May 13, 2019.
“Likewise, the reduction in public
infrastructure spending, hence lagging in construction-related manufactures,
and the weaker global economy resulted in a decrease in both volume and value
of the manufacturing sector, only improving in the latter part of the year
bolstered by the surge in public spending of 54 percent or P100.3 billion in
September as state agencies expedited the implementation of major
infrastructure projects as part of their catch-up measures,” it added.
On the other hand, residential and
commercial sectors recorded a surge in power consumption due to election-related
activities and warmer temperature in the summer months.
The continuous rise in global
surface temperatures primarily contributed to the uptrend as heat indices hit
dangerous levels especially in the months of April, May and June.
“Moreover, the El Niño event
throughout the year is a likely driver of the variation in consumption
especially in households and commercial spaces e.g. an increase in consumption
can be attributed to substantial utilization of cooling equipment,” the report
stated.
The Energy department had projected
this year’s power demand would likely remain at the same level in 2019 due to
the coronavirus quarantine implemented in Luzon and other parts of the country.
Although the agency observed the
residential sector’s demand surged significantly during the lockdown, it could
not compensate for the plunge from the industrial and commercial segments.
Power demand in the Visayas and
Mindanao did not decline as much since residential customers have been driving
demand in the two regions.
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