DOE rules out power shortage despite prolonged El Nino drought
By Alena Mae S. Flores – April 1, 2024, 8:30 pm
from manilastandard.net
The Department of Energy said Monday it does not expect any power supply shortage during the dry months amid the prolonged El Nino drought.
“Based on our latest monitoring and assessments, we do not see any shortage in electricity supply while our demand has not gone up to the projected peak demand this year,” DOE assistant secretary Mario Marasigan said in a TV interview.
Marasigan said there is still a supply margin of about 2,000 megawatts in Luzon and 200 MW to 500 MW in the Visayas and Mindanao.
“In Mindanao, we have excess capacity from supply. We see a shortage of electricity supply in the Visayas if all generation will come from Visayas alone,” he said.
Marasigan said the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project was able to transfer the maximum capacity of 450 MW from Mindanao to the Visayas.
He said the completion of the Cebu-Negros-Panay Transmission Stage 3 would also help boost capacity in Panay.
He said the CNP transmission line’s capacity is now at 400 MW from Cebu to Negros.
Marasigan said several power plants would also come online with a combined capacity of 300 MW during the dry months.
The DOE earlier warned the Luzon grid might experience yellow alerts in April and May, with hydroelectric power plants running below capacity level due to the El Nino.
“The summer period exerts significant pressure on electricity demand due to increased cooling needs, leading to peak demand shifts in consumption and infrastructure strain,” Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.
“We are, therefore, closely coordinating with all the stakeholders to carefully manage and plan for the effects of the summer period and the on-going El Niño to ensure reliable and sustainable electricity supply at the same time we request the support of everyone during this challenging period by being conscious in our use of electricity,” Lotilla said.
The agency called on the public to continue practicing energy conservation to minimize the cost of running oil-based power plants during this period.
