DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The Department of Energy announced it will immediately repair the damaged power plants following earthquakes in Batangas and adjacent areas.
In a press release Tuesday, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the DOE is coordinating with power industry players for the immediate rehabilitation of the power plants damaged by quake on Saturday, April 8.
“Our priority is the safe and quick restoration of the power supply in the Luzon grid following the declaration of a Yellow Alert status today (11 April) from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).”
Cusi said the lost power capacities due to the earthquakes reached 1,570 megawatts (MW) following the forced outages of Avion Unit 2 (50MW), San Lorenzo Units 1 and 2 (500MW), Ilijan B (600MW) and San Gabriel (420MW).
To ensure additional power capacity for the Luzon grid, the DOE has directed the NGCP to ensure continued operation of Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.’s Malaya Units 1 and 2 Thermal Power Plant, with a combined dependable capacity of 450 MW.
The DOE added that the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) confirmed a total of 383 Interruptible Load Program (ILP) participants which are ready to run their generator sets with a total capacity of 212 MW once needed.
“On the other hand the Visayas and Mindanao Grids have normal power condition,” said Cusi.
Meanwhile, the DOE said it is currently engaged in talks with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) and other industry players for the mitigating measures pertaining to spikes in the price of power.
According to the report of the PEMC, the current condition of the power market is still normal despite the loss of supply.
PEMC also reported that prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) are within normal level since many are observing Holy Week, which pulls down the demand resulting in lower prices despite reduced power generation.
On the ERC side, the DOE is looking at limiting the “moving average price” in the WESM to five days from seven days.
Cusi said the shorter days mean that the DOE, ERC and PEMC can easily monitor movements in the WESM to protect the consumers from price shocks. (davaotoday.com)
