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PNoy thumbs down emergency powers to address Mindanao power crisis
By AMITA LEGASPI and KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA News
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(Updated 8:14 p.m.) Despite calls from some of his allies in Congress, President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday said he is not keen on exercising emergency powers to address the power shortage in Mindanao.
“At this time, I’m not sure if emergency powers are what are needed,” Aquino told reporters after inaugurating the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea-Korean War Memorial Hall at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City.
Without elaborating, he said it was clear that from the time he assumed the presidency in June 2010 that “there was already a shortage” in Mindanao.
In 2010, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) first warned of a looming power crisis in Mindanao, the Philippines' second largest island. To prevent this, it proposed the construction of a 600-megawatt power plant.
NGCP operates and maintains the country’s power transmission highway used by power plants to supply distributors, such as Manila Electric Co., with electricity.
At least two measures have been filed in the Senate seeking an inquiry into the Mindanao power crisis.
Allies want emergency powers for PNoy
Aquino’s allies in the House of Representatives have urged him to ask Congress—currently on break—to hold a special session on giving him emergency powers.
Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco and Negros Occidential Rep. Albee Benitez said they support such move.
Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon has filed House Bill 6070, which would give the President the power to take over private power utilities or business—affected by the shortage—with a view to safeguarding public interest.
At the Senate, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV filed Senate Bill 3167 or the Electric Power Crisis Act of 2012, which defines the parameters of Aquino's emergency powers .
Lack of power reserve
The projected peak demand in Mindanao is 1,280 megawatts (MW), as of Thursday night, although the available capacity is 1,200 MW, Mylene Capongcol, director of the Energy Department’s Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, said in a phone interview with GMA News Online.
The projected capacity was earlier pegged at 1,300 MW and the available capacity at 1,100 MW.
"Nag-improve [naman] ang available generation capacity [pero] hindi rin pwede walang reserve," she said.
The power reserve required to keep the integrity of the Mindanao grid intact is 300 MW, according to the Energy Department.
Because of this, she said there are still areas in Mindanao where there are daily rotating brownouts.
According to the department's Mindanao Field Office March 28 curtailment schedule obtained by GMA News Online, some parts of Region 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 have recently been experiencing rotational brownouts. Among these are:
The power shortage in Mindanao is a cyclical problem as the supply from hydroelectric power plants experience output shortfalls during the dry season when water levels go down.
But Capongcol said there are several other factors that contribute to this problem.
She cited the Agus Hydroelectric Power Plant, which produces only half of its boilerplate capacity of 900 MW.
"Nasa kalahati lang halos pwede magamit. Hindi pwede ma-maximize dahil may babahaing lugar," she said.
Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras had said that they need to shut down the Pulangi IV Hydroelectric Power Plant in Bukidnon for a maintenance check from April 9 to May 9. After that, the power supply shortfall should start to narrow down, the Energy chief noted.
Old power infrastructure
President Aquino believes the power shortage was caused by the “old” power infrastructure in Mindanao. “You have a lot of infrastructure... the power infrastructure in Mindanao is very, very old.”
“’Yung repair of Agus 6 will take 30 months,” he added, referring to the 59 year old hydroelectric power plant that supplies electricity to the areas now plagued by daily outages.
Aquino had said that the administration is shelling out P2.6 billion for the rehabilitation of units 1 and 2 of Agus 6. This power plant, built in 1953, has a life span of only 30 years, the President noted.
Capongcol also said the department is now using power barges from private companies to help ease the shortfall in Mindanao.
Almendras had said the use of power barges from private suppliers could raise power rates in the area.
Such negative impact has prompted the department to look for other sources of electricity, he added.
President Aquino said building a coal-fired power plant in Mindanao will take two to three years. It took almost a year for two companies to get the permits and licenses to construct the coal-fed facilities, causing undue delays, he noted.
“We are trying to expedite the process at the same time taking into consideration the concerns of the residents that will be affected,” he said.
Speculations and false info
Aquino will meet with stakeholders in Davao after the Holy Week and present them government's solution and to "correct" some "false information."
“There is at the present a lot of speculation, a lot of false information, a lot of… efforts to cause greater uncertainty amongst the people of Mindanao which we will try to correct by the time the summit is conducted,” he said.
Capongcol specifically cited reports on 15-hour brownouts, which she said are not true. She also said that the power shortage is not the only reason for the brownouts.
"Maraming lumalabas na balita na I think hindi naman totoo... maraming causes bakit maraming brownout, hindi lang yung rotating brownout," she said.
She explained that there are so-called "local brownouts" that are caused by problems in the distribution system and not by the lack of power supply. —KBK/VS, GMA News
“At this time, I’m not sure if emergency powers are what are needed,” Aquino told reporters after inaugurating the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea-Korean War Memorial Hall at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City.
Without elaborating, he said it was clear that from the time he assumed the presidency in June 2010 that “there was already a shortage” in Mindanao.
In 2010, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) first warned of a looming power crisis in Mindanao, the Philippines' second largest island. To prevent this, it proposed the construction of a 600-megawatt power plant.
NGCP operates and maintains the country’s power transmission highway used by power plants to supply distributors, such as Manila Electric Co., with electricity.
At least two measures have been filed in the Senate seeking an inquiry into the Mindanao power crisis.
Allies want emergency powers for PNoy
Aquino’s allies in the House of Representatives have urged him to ask Congress—currently on break—to hold a special session on giving him emergency powers.
Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco and Negros Occidential Rep. Albee Benitez said they support such move.
Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon has filed House Bill 6070, which would give the President the power to take over private power utilities or business—affected by the shortage—with a view to safeguarding public interest.
At the Senate, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV filed Senate Bill 3167 or the Electric Power Crisis Act of 2012, which defines the parameters of Aquino's emergency powers .
Lack of power reserve
The projected peak demand in Mindanao is 1,280 megawatts (MW), as of Thursday night, although the available capacity is 1,200 MW, Mylene Capongcol, director of the Energy Department’s Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, said in a phone interview with GMA News Online.
The projected capacity was earlier pegged at 1,300 MW and the available capacity at 1,100 MW.
"Nag-improve [naman] ang available generation capacity [pero] hindi rin pwede walang reserve," she said.
The power reserve required to keep the integrity of the Mindanao grid intact is 300 MW, according to the Energy Department.
Because of this, she said there are still areas in Mindanao where there are daily rotating brownouts.
According to the department's Mindanao Field Office March 28 curtailment schedule obtained by GMA News Online, some parts of Region 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 have recently been experiencing rotational brownouts. Among these are:
- Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur (2 hrs/day)
- Zamboanga City (3 hrs/day)
- Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon (2.5 hrs/day)
- Medina, Misamis Oriental (4 hrs/day)
- Iligan City, Lanao del Norte (1 hr/day)
- Tagum City, Davao Norte (2 hrs/day)
- Marawi City, Lanao del Sur (6 hrs/day)
- Digos City, Davao del Sur (3 hrs/day)
- Tagum City, Davao Norte (1.5 hrs/day)
- Mati City, Davao Oriental (3 hrs/day)
- General Santos City, South Cotabato (1 hr/day)
- Koronadal City, South Cotabato (1 hr/day)
- Surigao City, Surigao del Norte (30 mins/day)
- Siargao, Surigaoi del Norte (4 hrs/day)
- Tandag, Surigao del Sur (1 hr/day)
- San Francisco, Agusan del Sur (1.5 hrs/day)
The power shortage in Mindanao is a cyclical problem as the supply from hydroelectric power plants experience output shortfalls during the dry season when water levels go down.
But Capongcol said there are several other factors that contribute to this problem.
She cited the Agus Hydroelectric Power Plant, which produces only half of its boilerplate capacity of 900 MW.
"Nasa kalahati lang halos pwede magamit. Hindi pwede ma-maximize dahil may babahaing lugar," she said.
Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras had said that they need to shut down the Pulangi IV Hydroelectric Power Plant in Bukidnon for a maintenance check from April 9 to May 9. After that, the power supply shortfall should start to narrow down, the Energy chief noted.
Old power infrastructure
President Aquino believes the power shortage was caused by the “old” power infrastructure in Mindanao. “You have a lot of infrastructure... the power infrastructure in Mindanao is very, very old.”
“’Yung repair of Agus 6 will take 30 months,” he added, referring to the 59 year old hydroelectric power plant that supplies electricity to the areas now plagued by daily outages.
Aquino had said that the administration is shelling out P2.6 billion for the rehabilitation of units 1 and 2 of Agus 6. This power plant, built in 1953, has a life span of only 30 years, the President noted.
Capongcol also said the department is now using power barges from private companies to help ease the shortfall in Mindanao.
Almendras had said the use of power barges from private suppliers could raise power rates in the area.
Such negative impact has prompted the department to look for other sources of electricity, he added.
President Aquino said building a coal-fired power plant in Mindanao will take two to three years. It took almost a year for two companies to get the permits and licenses to construct the coal-fed facilities, causing undue delays, he noted.
“We are trying to expedite the process at the same time taking into consideration the concerns of the residents that will be affected,” he said.
Speculations and false info
Aquino will meet with stakeholders in Davao after the Holy Week and present them government's solution and to "correct" some "false information."
“There is at the present a lot of speculation, a lot of false information, a lot of… efforts to cause greater uncertainty amongst the people of Mindanao which we will try to correct by the time the summit is conducted,” he said.
Capongcol specifically cited reports on 15-hour brownouts, which she said are not true. She also said that the power shortage is not the only reason for the brownouts.
"Maraming lumalabas na balita na I think hindi naman totoo... maraming causes bakit maraming brownout, hindi lang yung rotating brownout," she said.
She explained that there are so-called "local brownouts" that are caused by problems in the distribution system and not by the lack of power supply. —KBK/VS, GMA News
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