Power co-ops advised on shortages in April, May

By Victor V. Saulon
Sub-Editor

THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) told electric cooperatives (ECs) to prepare for possible rotational brownouts in April and May when the power supply deficiency is projected to reach up to 821 megawatts (MW) in Luzon.

“DoE (Department of Energy) estimates that red alerts may be issued from April 18 to 21 and May 20 to 22, and that an additional capacity of 256 MW to 821 MW is needed in the Luzon power grid to avoid the yellow or red alert in the region,” said NEA Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong in a briefing on Monday at the agency’s head office in Quezon City.

The projected power supply deficiency is a result of increased demand during the hot months when hydro-electric power plants are also producing at lower capacity because water elevation declines, he said.

“In light of this, the NEA has advised all electric cooperatives in Luzon and the Visayas to prepare their respective contingency plans to mitigate the impact of potential power supply deficits in their respective areas,” Mr. Masongsong said.

Grid operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines issues a yellow alert notice when power supply is low but may not lead to power outages. It issues a red alert notice when supply is insufficient and may result in rotational brownouts.

“Apart from this, the NEA has also recommended various measures that ECs may adopt to help them address this potential problem. These include adopting demand-side management programs and maximizing embedded power plants to reduce, if not eliminate, rotating brownouts during peak hours,” Mr. Masongsong said.

Embedded power generating units are indirectly connected to the grid through the distribution system that supplies power to the power plants’ host distribution utility.

Five electric cooperatives in Luzon have embedded power plants with a combined capacity of 11.696 MW. In the Visayas, three ECs have embedded mini-hydro power plants with a total capacity of 10.42 MW.

Mr. Masongsong said the agency had advised electric cooperatives that do not have embedded power plants or generators to work with big electricity consumers for them to reduce their usage when demand is high or when an alert notice is issued.

“Affected ECs are also directed to encourage large establishments with stand-by generating capacities to participate in the interruptible load program, or ILP. Under this program, big consumers will be asked to run their embedded stand-by generating sets during peak hours instead of obtaining their supply from power distribution utilities,” he said.

Mr. Masongsong also called on ECs to develop their own embedded power plants even with small capacities, up to a maximum of 1 MW, using renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric or solar to help mitigate power shortages.

NEA is mandated to pursue total electrification through the 121 electric cooperatives under its supervision.

After the briefing, Mr. Masongsong gave his side on the move from the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms, Inc. (Nasecore) asking Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi in a letter dated Feb. 10 to recommend the NEA administrator’s removal from office for alleged grave abuse of authority.

Nasecore claims that his issuances were without prior authorization from the NEA board of administrators as required by law. One issuance raised the salaries of EC general managers allegedly to gain their support for the electoral campaign of four party-list representatives in Congress.

Mr. Masongsong said Nasecore must first prove that he had abused his authority as NEA administrator. He added that all the issuance of NEA, especially on policy issues, had been approved by the agency’s board of administrators, which is chaired by Mr. Cusi.

“I’ll prepare an answer kahit hindi pa ako pinapasagot ni (even if I haven’t been asked to reply by) Secretary Cusi. I’ll prepare an answer addressed to Sec. Cusi,” he told reporters.