Mindanao scrambles to avert another power crisis

(Updated 7:18 p.m.) Mindanao is expected to experience more outages as summer deepens and the regional supply grid grapples with low water levels to run the hydropower plants while demand for electricity rises in urban areas. The supply grid remains beset by the slow progress of rehabilitation and repair works on transmission lines and other infrastructure damaged by Typhoon Pablo late last year. According to the Mindanao Development Authority (MDA) it is now searching for immediate and long-term solutions to cover the shortfall in supply. Mindanao suffers this seasonal deficit year in, year out with metropolitan cities like General Santos, Cotabato, Davao and Kidapawan enduring rotating outages─ some lasting up to 12 hours a day. The power outages, however, also affect rural areas where farms depend on electricity to run irrigation systems. The Department of Energy (DoE) expects the supply shortfall to reach 300 megawatts (MW) if the current situation continues. Davao City still has sufficient power but Cotabato and other areas are now experiencing rotating outages of up to three and a half hours, twice a day. Cooperatives and daily outages According to data given to GMA News Online by Norman Martirez of DOE's Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, the electric cooperatives that are part of the rotating outages are:

Region IX: Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (ZAMCELCO) and Zamboanga del Sur I Electric Cooperative (ZAMSURECO I), which covers Pagadian City.

Region X: Misamis Occidental II Electric Cooperative (MOELCI II), which covers Ozamiz City and Tangub City.

Caraga: Surigao Del Sur I Electric Cooperative (SURSECO I), which covers Bislig City.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao: Maguindanao Electric Cooperative (MAGELCO I).

Other electric cooperatives in the region experienced blackouts averaging one to five hours. Only Bukidnon I Electric Cooperative (FIBECO) and Misamis Oriental I Rural Electric Service (MORESCO I), both in Region X, had no rotating brownouts this month, according to the data. Region 11 has the largest power deficit─or the lack of capacity to meet the demand─at a 54.6 MW shortage. It is followed by Region 9 with a 53.7-MW deficit, Region 12 at 47.2 MW, Region 10 at 43 MW, Caraga at 38.6 MW, and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) at 6.1 MW. In trying to address the problem, the Energy Department and the MDA is urging SM malls and the Dole fruit processing plant to help reduce the burden of demand on the grid by using their own power generators. A massive energy conservation campaign is underway in General Santos where residents have been asked to unplug their refrigerators for at least three hours a day. The reopening of the Iligan diesel power plant in May is expected to feed the grid with 12 MW and eventually with 30 MW once its rehabilitation is completed in October. The proposed solutions were presented at the Zamboanga Power Summit last March 22 and at the GenSan Power Forum on March 27. Problem solved in 2015? The different power cooperatives and utilities in the region are also trying to come up with their own solutions to address the situation. Last year, Davao City approved the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Toril to boost supply within the city and neighboring areas. However, the construction of new power plants and the development of sustainable infrastructure are expected to support the whole of Mindanao only in 2015. Amid the power crisis Mindanao is experiencing, President Benigno Aquino III said the government plans to solve the issue by 2015 by constructing diesel-powered plants that will support the hydro-powered facilities in the region. Amid concerns over possible negative impact on the May polls, the President also ruled out declaring a state of emergency in Mindanao because of the power crisis. Meanwhile, in the 2012 Power Summit, Aquino noted the people of Mindanao should be realistic in addressing the power crisis. “You have to pay more because this is the reality of economics, not the rhetoric of politics. Everything has its price. You have to pay a real price for a real service. There are only two choices: pay a little more for energy, or live with the rotating brownouts,” the President said. ─ With Gian Geronimo and Marc Cayabyab/VS, GMA News