Long rotating brownouts for 7-8 weeks possible in dry season of 2015

The Department of Energy made this projection as it factored in the possible effects of El Niño, GMA News' Julius Segovia reported on "24 Oras" Wednesday.

 

With possible dry spells from El Niño, the DOE projects a power deficiency of 800 megawatts instead of the originally projected 600 megawatts.

 

This means a red alert of seven to eight weeks instead of just one month - potentially meaning longer brownouts.

 

On the other hand, the government said that while a power rate hike may be inevitable in 2015, it will not likely be as bad as it sounds.

 

Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla said the hike may be between 15 to 20 centavos per kilowatt-hour, and not P20 per kwh as reportedly projected by Sen. Sergio Osmeña III.

 

"Imposibleng tumaas yan ng P20," Petilla said.

 

Still, the report said the government may need some P6 billion to rent modular generator sets and may not be able to shoulder the cost alone.

 

Petilla stressed there is cost in producing electricity.

 

Also, the DOE pushed for the passage of a joint resolution giving President Benigno Aquino III standby authority to deal with a potential power crisis.

 

It said that if the authority is not given within this month, the government may have a hard time making arrangements to generate the needed extra power.

 

The House of Representatives' energy committee said it will tackle the matter even if Congress goes on break.

 

For her part, Sen. Miriam Santiago sees no problem with giving President Aquino standby authority, but said this should not last more than a year.  — Joel Locsin/ELR, GMA News