Brownouts may stretch to 12 hours a day in some Mindanao areas

Residents in parts of Mindanao may have to put up with brownouts of as long as 12 hours a day, as the power deficit worsens there.

 

Brian Diosma of the Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee (MPMC) said the long brownouts are likely because of a 300-megawatt energy deficit in Mindanao, according to a report on MindaNews.

 

Diosma was quoted in the report as saying said 12-hour rotational brownouts have been imposed in parts of Cotabato province, especially in Midsayap, Pikit and Aleosan towns.

 

The MPMC spokesman said the Pulangi hydro plant, which normally generates around 265 megawatts, was producing only 60 MW as of Tuesday afternoon.

 

Earlier, the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co. Inc. (Cepalco) warned of rotational power interruptions lasting more than seven hours until at least May 8.

 

Davao City and General Santos City are suffering from six-hour daily brownouts, MindaNews reported.

 

Agusan del Sur, which bought a modular generating set, is experiencing shorter brownouts while Bayugan city and other towns in Agusan del Sur are experiencing two hours a day, according to Diosma.

 

Meanwhile, MindaNews said Steag State Power Inc. (SPI), which operates a 210-MW coal plant in Villanueva in Misamis Oriental, announced its Unit 1 power generator will start supplying 105 MW to the Mindanao grid on Thursday.

 

SPI spokesman Jerome Soldevilla said another power generator capable of supplying another 105 MW will resume operations on June 1.

 

The two Steag generators were damaged during a Mindanao-wide fault last Feb. 27.  — Joel Locsin/ELR, GMA News