El Niño To Worsen Power Supply ProblemABS-CBN - Friday, January 29
MANILA, Philippines - A looming El Niño weather cycle may disrupt hydro-power generation in the country, worsening current supply problem, according to Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes.
Because of this, Reyes said stakeholders in the power industry will meet on February 4 to map out a plan on how to temper the impact of the dry spell.
"The power industry sector will meet next week to tackle the implications of the El Niño phenomenon on power generation adequacy," he said in a meeting at the Department of Energy on Thursday.
Hyro power is usually least expensive to develop. The lack of hyro power would force the government to get supply from other sources, possibly leading to higher electricity prices.
Mindanao's power supply is drawn from hydro facilities, whose operations would be affected by reduced rainfall, and worse, drought brought by El Niño.
Visayas is now suffering from power shortage while Luzon grid is experiencing thin supply.
Early this week, Metro Manila and some parts of Luzon were hit by rotating brownouts after a unit of the 600-megawatt (MW) Sual coal-fired plant in Pangasinan shut down due to feedwater pump trouble. Current supply remains thin as generation plants undergo maintenance.
No more brownouts
Reyes, however, assured that rotating brownouts would not happen again, especially during the national elections in May.
"It was the consensus that the causes of the brownouts were the scheduled maintenance shutdowns and the unexpected outages of major generating plants specifically the Sual Unit 1, the 620-MW combined-cycle Limay Plant in Bataan, and the 300-MW coal-fired Calaca unit in Batangas," Reyes said.
Reyes said he got assurance from the owners of the said power plants that the brownouts will not happen again.
Sual's independent power producer (IPP) contract is owned by San Miguel Energy Corp. (SMEC) but the plant itself is being run by TeaM Energy Corp. under tha build-operate-transfer scheme.
Limay is also owned by SMEC while Calaca is run by the Consunjis.
According to Reyes, SMEC has committed to the expeditious delivery of coal and maintenance of appropriate level of inventory for Sual. The company also promised to hasten the immediate recommissioning of the Limay plant.
The DOE and all its attached agencies, meanwhile, will monitor the power situation in the country, especially during the polls.
Rehabilitation of power plants
Nacionalista Party senatorial candidate Ramon Mitra said the Philippines needs to invest in the rehabilitation of power plants and look at ways to build new facilities for more efficient services.
Mitra, who was a director of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co., said that prevailing brownouts in Luzon make it imperative for government to stay focus on issues relating to power.
"This is a serious matter, rotating brownouts are cause for alarm and we need to look into this and make it a priority in the next administration," he said.
He underscored the need to encourage investments in renewable energy.
"We need to give incentives to investments and good performances in services, we need to be decisive in these things because brownouts are serious cause for alarm especially in a thriving economy," he said.
Review Sual IPPA contract
In a related development, consumer group National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms (NASECORE) has asked state privatization agency Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) to review the IPPA contract with SMEC for the operation of the Sual plant.
In a letter to PSALM dated January 27, NASECORE president Pete Ilagan noted that the reported breakdown of Sual unit 1 was not the sole cause of the rotating brownouts in Luzon. He said the Sual unit 2 was also offline due to inadequate coal supply.
Ilagan requested PSALM "to review its IPP Administration Agreement with San Miguel Corporation and if the findings so warrants, to immediately cancel the IPPA agreement and take over the operations of Sual plants."
"The unfortunate incident on January 25, 2010 puts now to question both the transfer and control by PSALM of the IPP contract to San Miguel Corporation and its capability as the Administrator of the two Sual plants for its failure to maintain Sual I plant in good condition and its glaring negligence in ensuring adequate level of coal supply inventory to make Sual II plant online. Undoubtedly, these were the reasons for the power outage last Monday," Ilagan said.
The IPPA contract for the operation of Sual was awarded by PSALM to SMEC in August last year. With a report from Alvin Elchico, ABS-CBN News