INACTION / 'RED ALERT' IN MINDANAO
MANILA, MARCH 22, 2012 (INQUIRER) By Gil C. Cabacungan -
Lawmakers from Mindanao have castigated Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras for
failing to address the island's acute power shortage despite his commitment to
undertake projects to boost the capacity of hydropower plants there.
Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez said he and 30 other
lawmakers from Mindanao were "venting their anger" at Almendras who had been
apprised of the dire power supply problem as early as the third quarter of 2010
but had yet to implement the remedies he promised.
The House of Representatives held a meeting with energy officials last week,
which Almendras snubbed.
Mindanao has a power supply deficit of 180 to 400 megawatts that could have
been easily addressed by Almendras had he fulfilled to dredge the Agus and
Pulangui rivers, Rodriguez said in an interview. The move would have boosted
capacity of Agus hydroelectric complex by at least 150 MW, he added.
Rodriguez said Mindanao officials had also urged Rodriguez to repair the four
barges that would have added a combined 120 MW to the island.
"We want to know why he refused to dredge the rivers or repair the barges,"
the lawmaker said. "We already know as early as 2010 what would happen to the
energy supply, yet he did not take action for no apparent reason."
Aside from the hydropower and barges, Rodriguez said Almendras should have
intervened to facilitate the reopening of the diesel power plant of Iligan Steel
Corp., which could have added another 130 MW to the supply.
"I do not know why he did not lift even a finger to ask the COA (Commission
on Audit) to allow the start of operation of the diesel plant in Iligan because
of the power shortfall," he said.
He said that while Almendras had done nothing to resolve the power crisis,
private owners of power barges in Mindanao were making a killing as they were
selling power for P14 per kilowatt-hour or four times the P3.50 per kWh rate for
hydropower.
Rodriguez said the lawmakers were open to longer-term solutions to Mindanao's
chronic power supply problems brought about by its dependence on cheap
hydropower which has become more unreliable with the changing weather patterns
brought about by climate change.
A Catholic bishop also joined calls for the government to immediately find
solution to the ongoing rotational brownouts in certain parts of Mindanao.
Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad lamented that the frequent power interruptions
had already affected the daily lives of residents and had even taken its toll on
house appliances.
"Due to the blackouts, most appliances are destroyed and many things are
affected," Jumoad told reporters when reached by phone yesterday.
He said electric fans were among the many household appliances that had
broken down due to the steady brownouts since early this year.
Jumoad, however, said he was thankful that the power interruptions had not
yet affected the attendance of the faithful in Sunday Masses. "Church attendance
is OK because the people are already getting used to the brownouts," he said.
"[But] I hope the government may find solution to this problem," he stressed.
Last week, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines announced that the
Mindanao grid lacked 178 MW, an increase of 40 MW from the 138 MW shortfall on
February 22.
It attributed the increase in power supply deficiency to the 38-MW drop in
available capacity from 1,117 MW on February 22 to 1,079 MW last week.
Several electric organizations in Mindanao have already urged lawmakers to
conduct an inquiry into the frequent power interruptions. With a report from Jocelyn R. Uy
FROM MANILA TIMES
Solving Mindanao power crisis costly – DOE
Published : Thursday, March 15, 2012 00:00 Article Views : 344
Written by : EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO REPORTER
[PHOTO - DOE OF THE PHILIPPINES Logo]
POWER consumers in the Mindanao region will have to pay higher electricity
rates or endure longer brownouts, an official of the Department of Energy (DOE)
said on Wednesday.
According to Energy Undersecretary Josefina Patricia Asirit, electric
utilities based in Mindanao need to secure available power generation in the
region at a higher price.
The supply of electricity in the southern Philippine region, she explained,
is "manageable" only if distribution utilities and electric cooperatives
contract existing generating capacities of power plants.
"We are belabored with the question of we want power, what does it cost to
get that power? Are we willing to pay the price?" Asirit asked.
Parts of Mindanao have recently been hit by two- to four-hour power outages
as some utilities in the region have allegedly shied away from buying power from
generators whose rates are more expensive than operators of hydroelectric
plants.
More than half of Mindanao's power generation comes from the Agus-Pulangi
hydro complex run by state-owned National Power Corp., which charges over P3 per
kilowatt-hour (kWh) for electricity produced by the facility.
In contrast, diesel-fed power barges in the region can command a rate of
roughly P11.00 kWh.
Asirit said that as of March 11, there was a total of 146 megawatts (MW) of
untapped capacity from these sources, which could help bring down the 200- to
250-MW deficiency during peak hours, or the time of day when demand for
electricity is at its highest.
The Energy department is presently in talks with regulators and industry
stakeholders over a proposal to lower the required reserves in the Mindanao grid
from 250 MW to only 100 MW in order to free up an additional 150 MW.
"We also have an offer from a private power generator that they can move two
power barges with an aggregate capacity of 120 MW [to the region], pero'yun nga,
offtakers naman ang problema [but offtakers would be the problem]," Asirit said.
These utilities, whom she did not identify, have also been "overwithdrawing"
power from the grid in excess of their actual contracts with generators and
reneging on their obligation with grid protocols to cut off demand in their
franchise areas during times of shortage.
To address Mindanao's power situation, the Energy department earlier proposed
a circular that will allow the grid operator, the National Grid Corp. of the
Philippines, to cut off power to erring utilities.
The circular, expected to be signed by Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras
next week, also outlines measures to rationalize power supply in the region for
the short-term.
The department also identified 149 MW of embedded power generation from
commercial and industrial establishments within utilities' franchise areas that
are typically for the use of these entities.
But these power sources would cost more than hydros, as oil-based fuel used
to run these facilities are paid for by consumers.
"These again are stop-gap measures which will always be expensive. To be able
to address the demand is really looking at the long-term solutions [such as
baseload plants]," Asirit said.
Baseload-generating facilities are large power plants that can be run 24/7,
unlike hydro facilities that are reliant on weather conditions to operate
efficiently.
However, the next such facilities committed by investors in the region—a
200-MW coal and 50-MW geothermal project—will not be operational until 2014.
FROM MANILA STANDARD
'Red alert' in Mindanao amid power blackouts
Wednesday, 18 January, 2012 16:49Written by Alena Mae S. Flores
MINDANAO is now on "red alert" due to a power shortage, while Luzon will need
more power generators in the next three years as a result of rising demand and
the increasing population, Energy Secretary Jose Almendras said Tuesday.
He said Mindanao's power reserves dropped to zero on Tuesday, when the peak
demand reached 1,236 megawatts but the available supply reached only 1,215
megawatts.
The power distributors on the island were forced to hold back on their load,
and that resulted in blackouts in some areas. Tuesday's power shortage reached
as much as 150 megawatts, Almendras said.
He appealed to stakeholders to help avert a power shortage in Luzon by
boosting the supply of electricity in the provinces, towns and cities.
"We are appealing to various stakeholders and to [local government units] [to
create] power generator facilities as the demand for electricity is increasing,"
Almendras said.
"We need at least 600 megawatts for 2013 and 2014 for Luzon alone," he said.
The Luzon grid would need at least 300 megawatts more to meet the rising
demand for electricity and another 400 megawatts by 2016.
Almendras said he would soon present to the National Economic and Development
Authority his department's plan to redress the power shortage in Mindanao. Those
would include the upgrading or rehabilitation of hydroelectric plants and the
transfer of some power barges to the areas needing them, he said.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodgriguez, vice chairman of the House's energy
committee, said some sectors might have been orchestrating moves to delay action
on some power supply contracts to increase pressure on the government to
privatize state-owned electric power barges so those barges could be moved to
Mindanao.
"Powerful and influential people are pushing [to privatize the barges],"
Rodriguez said.
"I warn them that this won't be good for consumers at it will mean higher
electricity rates." Alena Mae S. Flores, Jess
Malabanan
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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