President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is wondering how Negros Occidental and Panay in the Visayas region can experience brownouts when these provinces have a surplus in power supply.
He guaranteed yesterday his administration would provide additional support to tackle the power interruptions in Negros and Panay, which were caused by issues in the distribution network.
Marcos told reporters on board the plane en route to Washington earlier this week that the government has successfully put into effect corrective actions in some areas of Visayas, where power interruptions are frequent.
However, he noted that there may be a need to increase the electricity distribution on Negros Island and Panay Island, and the government is willing to assist with this.
“The ones experiencing (electricity) problems now are Negros and Panay Island. The irony is Negros actually has a surplus of power supply. The reason for the occurrence of brownouts is due to issues with the distribution system of high-tension wires. So that is what we need to investigate,” Marcos said.
Fix it or else
“If the people in charge can’t handle it, maybe it’s up to the government to take over. We’ll provide support. That’s how it is, because there is a shortage,” he added.
Marcos mentioned that the government initially focused on discovering how to transfer the excess power from Negros Island to the rest of Visayas because they were experiencing an overall electricity shortage.
However, he realized that the issue in the area was not with the power supply but the distribution system that caused the power outages.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said it is investigating the reasons behind the power failures that affected several provinces on Panay Island.
The power backbone concessionaire said it is identifying the underlying cause of the disruptions to develop a long-lasting solution to restore and stabilize the power supply network.
Previously, the NGCP had warned about potential electricity disruptions this summer season since the Energy Regulatory Commission refused its request for monthly extensions on ancillary services agreements.
Negros woe resolved
No power interruption will happen again in Occidental Mindoro and residents may look forward to enjoying a sound sleep, as the power interruption problem is now resolved as assured by the National Electrification Administration on Monday.
Since Friday, 29 April, Rolando Ilustre, the public relations officer of the Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corporation, said improvement of the power supply started at around 8 a.m. and continues.
Likewise, NEA administrator Antonio Almeda, during the Laging Handa Public Briefing on Monday, said power distribution in Occidental Mindoro is now uninterrupted, unlike the previous months when locals only had electricity for four hours, resulting in inconvenience not only to residents but for businesses in the said province.
“They are now having 24 hours supply of power. Three plants are now up and running providing 32 megawatts, covering the 29 megawatts requirement of the whole Occidental Mindoro,” he said.
Almeda said the improvement in power supply was because of the agreement between NEA and OMCPC owner Luis Manuel Banson.
“About three weeks before this solution came in, Occidental Mindoro has an insufficiency of supply, so the Department of Energy issued a certificate of exemption for the electric cooperative OMECO to conduct an emergency power supply agreement and that power supply agreement was entered into with DMCI Power for a total of 17 megawatts — the deficiency needed to cover the power requirement of 29 megawatts,” he explained.
Three plants are now up and running providing 32 megawatts, covering the 29 megawatts requirement of the whole Occidental Mindoro.
Last 28 April, Almeda confirmed that he met Banzon on 27 April to discuss the possible measures to resolve the power crisis.
He said during the meeting, the two parties agreed to run the three power stations of OMCPC to address the current power supply concerns of the province, involving NEA’s Sablayan facility with 5 megawatts capacity; Mamburao, Paluan, Sta. Cruz, and Abra de Ilog, with a 7MW capacity; and San Jose, Magsaysay, Rizal, Calitaan (SAMARICA), which has a 20MW capacity.
Malacanang Palace, on the other hand, released a separate statement last week, stating that the Department of Energy has issued a Certificate of Exemption to allow OMECO to enter into a negotiated procurement for an emergency power supply agreement for 17 MW.
“NEA and OMECO solicited possible suppliers for the EPSA, and DMCI Power Corporation appears to be the only power company that can provide immediate power supply in the shortest amount of time. DPC committed to supplying 10 MWs within one month and the remaining 7 MWs in two months,” the Palace statement read. RAFFY AYENG