City Hall not spared from brownouts

CEBU, Philippines - Councilor Roberto Cabarrubias yesterday proposed that the city purchase a power generator to ensure a stable power supply, especially during important activities like yesterday’s session of the City Council.

Yesterday’s session transpired sans loud voices from microphones because of power interruption.

Cabarrubias said a power generator can solve the problem, but a more urgent solution is for the city to purchase a “wire” worth P388,000 to connect from the transformer to the power supply and to the session hall. The generator would reportedly cost P8 million.

To recall, the legislative building was installed with 220 volts of power with Mayor Tomas Osmeña suggesting to use biogas. The use of biogas would enhance the usual 220 voltage to 380 voltage.

In 2004, the City Council passed a resolution asking a supplier for the immediate delivery of a P16.73-million waste-to-energy district air cooling system for the legislative building.

City Councilor Nestor Archival drafted the resolution asking for the immediate delivery of the multi-fuel boiler feed to power the air cooling system three months after the council approved a P16.73-million domestic letter of credit for the purchase of the equipment.

Philippine Bio-Sciencies Co., Inc. (PhilBio) was awarded the contract for the equipment, being the lone bidder during the first and second bidding.

Jimmy Aboitiz, president of the Visayan Electric Company, said earlier the rotating brownouts is due to the planned shutdown of the geothermal power plant in Leyte and unplanned shutdowns of power plants in Cebu.

He said two-thirds of Veco’s contracts are for power supply from Leyte and if problems would occur with the supply, the power supply in Cebu will also be interrupted.

Veco’s Corporate Communications Manager Ethel Natera said the power distribution firm is set to implement one-hour brownouts on a rotation basis to cope with the power deficit.

She said VECO will ask participants of the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) to deload from the VECO system to help minimize the power supply shortage.

Other major power plants in Cebu have momentarily seized operations, including the 50-MW Cebu Thermal Power Plant 1, which will be closed for maintenance until February 15. The closure came even as the Naga Power Plant Complex’s two gas turbines capable of generating 44 MW reportedly seized operation because of the failure to deliver fuel. — Marjun A. Baguio/JMO   (FREEMAN NEWS)