Energy shortfall threatens Mindanao

The economic and social progress of Mindanao is threatened the looming 484-megawatt electricity shortage in the island, an official of a power generation firm warned on Friday. Bobby Orig, first vice president for Mindanao Affairs of Aboitiz Power, which operates several hydroelectric and coal plants in Mindanao, said in a statement that residents and businesses in Mindanao need power sources that are "reliable" and "not weather-dependent." Orig is referring to Mindanao's heavy dependence on hydroelectric power, with half of the island's needs supplied by the Agus-Pulangi hydroelectric complex in Lanao-Bukidnon. "During long droughts or low rainfall, the production of these facilities is affected and Mindanao is plunged into rotating blackouts," Orig stressed. As early as next year, power demand in Mindanao could well exceed supply, which could still worsen if new power sources are not added, according to projections of the Department of Energy along with independent think tanks. By next year, Mindanao will need some 270 megawatts (MW) of power, and as much as a 484 MW in the course of three years. Orig said the new Davao coal-fired power plant will create the right mix of energy sources needed by Mindanao, but that the generated power of the plant is not enough to meet the projected shortfall by 2014. Aboitiz is also in the process of constructing seven new hydropower plants in the region through its subsidiary Hedcor Inc., but the combined output of these is only 68 MW. Unfortunately, there are natural limits that prevent power firms from building more hydropower plants and generating more capacity in Mindanao considering "there are no more large bodies of water in Mindanao that can produce large [amounts] of power similar to Agus-Pulangi," Orig said. "There is a need to build more power plants in the next few years," Orig stressed. "[The shortage] is enough to cut power entirely in the cities of Davao, General Santos, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga." Aboitiz Power is the holding company of the Aboitiz Group’s investments in power generation, distribution, retail and services. — JMT/VS, GMA News