Mindanao blackouts to worsen in summer

MINDANAO could suffer four- to eight-hour rolling blackouts in summer as the temperatures rise and demand for electricity increases, the Energy Department warned on Thursday.

Mindanao is already suffering two- to four-hour outages a day because there are no power reserves available to the grid, which depends on the hydroelectric plants for half of its energy requirements, according to Energy Undersecretary Josefina Asirit.

She said the shortage was 150 to 200 megawatts.

“The supply is insufficient. The worst-case scenario would be a doubling of the [rolling] brownouts,” Asirit said

Mindanao suffered severe power outages in the summer of 2010 when the water levels in the dams feeding the region’s hydroelectric plants retreated as a result of a dry spell.

Asirit said the electric cooperatives had power-supply agreements with private generation companies, but they were unwilling to buy electricity from them because of its high cost.

Earlier, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said there was about 100 megawatts of power capacity that was not being tapped. He said his department might issue an order compelling the cooperatives to buy power even at a higher prices.

“At the end of the day, it’s the distributor who’s supposed to buy the necessary power to sell,” Almendras said.

He said the department was ready to present its plans for the region to the National Economic and Development Authority-Regional Development Council. Those include the upgrading or rehabilitation of hydroelectric power plants, the sale of several power barges, and the privatization of the Iligan diesel power plant.–Alena Mae S. Flores, Manila Standard Today