Sato says Cusi vowed to provide stable power supply in Occidental Mindoro

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi has promised to provide Occidental Mindoro with sufficient and reliable power supply, lawmaker Josephine Ramirez-Sato said Monday.

Sato, the representative of the lone district of the province, said power outlook would improve in Occidental Mindoro as power sources go on board to provide at least 29 megawatts to consumers.

She said this is due to the commitment of the national government to address the province's issues in energy supply.

"Sa aming pag-uusap ni Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi kamakailan, nangako po siya na tutulungan tayo ng DOE na magkaroon ng stable power supply (In our talk recently, Energy Secretary Cusi promised that DOE will help the province have a stable power supply)," Sato said.

"Sinabi rin po ni Sec. Cusi na suportado ng Pangulong Duterte ang ating mga programa ukol sa pagsisiguro ng sapat na supply ng kuryente  sa ating probinsiya (Cusi also said that President Duterte supports our programs for sufficient power supply)," she added.

The lawmaker has been coordinating with agencies such as the Department of Energy, Energy Regulatory Commission, National Power Commission, and National Electrification Administration, and the province’s sole power distributor Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative Inc. (OMECO), and supplier Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corp. (OMCPC).

From 1993 to 2018, the Island Power Corporation (IPC) had the exclusive right to provide power to the province. Sato said, for 25 years, the province suffered from rotational brownouts of eight to 12 hours a day.

She said the engine maintenance work on OMCPC’s  20-MW diesel power plant is expected to be completed by October, and could already fully operate and provide 20 megawatts of power to the mainland. The operation of the OMCPC plant was given the go-signal by the ERC in 2017. 

Sato said she has received communication from OMECO that the commissioning and synchronization of the new 5MW genset of the OMCPC and the existing 4 MW gensets of the NPC, all located in Tayamaan, Mamburao, has been successful, and that the plants are “now ready for commercial operation.”

The lawmaker said current power demand in the province is placed at 27 MW during the summer months, and at a lower 19MW during the rainy season. 

She said the 29MW power supply from the OMCPC’s power plant and genset, and the NPC’s gensets is enough to meet the demand and stop the rotational brownouts that have affected households since April.—AOL, GMA News