DOE urged to ensure ample coal supply to prevent summer brownouts

By Myrna M. Velasco – January 6, 2022, 2:45 PM
from Manila Bulletin

With the coal export ban being enforced now by the Indonesian government, the Department of Energy (DOE) is prodded on a contingency measure to ensure sufficient coal inventory, that in turn could spare the country from rotational blackouts especially during the peak demand months of summer.

In a call set forth by Senate Committee on Energy Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian, he prompted the energy department to explore ways “to avert possible higher coal prices” as an offshoot of the policy of Indonesia, which traditionally had been the major source of coal imported by Philippine power producers.

Senate Committee on Energy Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian

“The ban causes concerns on the country’s supply of coal for power plants which, if insufficient, could lead to widespread blackouts,” the lawmaker warned.

In Gatchalian’s view, part of the contingency measure that shall be employed by the DOE is to strictly implement the required 30-day minimum inventory requirement (MIR) that must be complied with by the power plant owners and operators.

When it comes to easing cost impact on the electric bills of consumers and to fend off coal supply shortfalls, one course of action that the government and the industry players can pursue is to scout other possible sources of such fuel commodity.

“The government should also consider looking for other suppliers especially in the coming weeks given the possible decline in stockpiles coming from Indonesia which could result in soaring coal prices,” the solon pointed out.

Currently, the bulk of electricity being generated in the country is from coal-fired power plants, hence, any fuel deficit fed on to these generating assets could trigger power service interruptions. That is a scenario that the country cannot afford especially on the strike of scorching weather in the coming months as well as the May 2022 elections.

Gatchalian specified that based on DOE’s data as of October 2021, the Philippines procured about 96.88-percent of its coal supply from Indonesia while Australia had a marginal share of 1.82-percent. Vietnam had 0.35-percent share and the balance of 0.94-percent had been from other coal-importing countries.

The legislator similarly noted that of the 42.476 million metric tons of coal utilized across industries in the country last year, 69.51-percent had been imported; while 30.49-percent are from domestic sources.

Gatchalian thus sounded off that “this could be a wake-up call,” as he emphasized that “the government should probably start rethinking and be more committed in reducing the share of coal by further diversifying our generation mix.”

He emphasized that one urgent alternative the country can embrace will be to ramp up renewable energy (RE) installations, because running these facilities would not be subject to the unpredictability of policies from foreign suppliers.