No Luzon power interruptions in for the first half of April – DOE

The Department of Energy said on Tuesday that Luzon would not have to deal with any power outages in the first half of April, even with the Malampaya gas facility shutdown for maintenance until April 14.

According to GMA 7 news program  "24 Oras”, the Manila Electric Company and National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said that Luzon's power reserve on April 7, 2015 reached 1,842 megawatts, with power demand at 8,006 megawatts and reserves at 9,847 megawatts.



However, Meralco warned that the situation could be very different next month, when consumption was expected to reach over 9,000 megawatts.

The DOE had explained that if Luzon's peak demand reached 9,000 megawatts, 1,600 megawatts of reserve electricity was needed  to avoid rotational blackouts.

"Diyan na ho talaga natin nararamadaman 'yung pagtaas ng demand dahil mas kailangan ng customers natin ng kuryente, mas maraming gumagamit, mas mainit ang panahon, mas maraming cooling devices na gagamitin," said Meralco's Public Information Office Manager Joe Zaldarriaga.,

Power rate hike

Meanwhile, Meralco confirmed that it was set to hike power rates because three power plants that had relied on Malampaya's natural gas had to use expensive fuels instead.

The exact rate hike will be announced on Wednesday, though it would likely not be as high as P0.46 per kilowatt hour.

"Maaaring mas mababa doon hopefully dahil lang sa nakikita naman natin na ang movement sa merkado is not as steep as we have earlier projected it to be," Zaldarriaga added.

However, LPG Marketers' Association Representative Arnel Ty said that Malampaya's 30-day maintenance shutdown should not be used as an excuse to hike power rates since the world market price for oil and other fuels remained stable. — Trisha Macas/DVM, GMA News