DOE chief warns of 2-hour blackouts next summer

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines faces rotating blackouts of two to three hours next summer with the looming power shortage, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said over the weekend.

Given the situation, Petilla expressed hopes that there would be a declaration of a state of emergency in the power sector by September, with time running out to prepare for the looming capacity shortage.

Citing the Department of Energy (DOE)’s Luzon Supply-Demand Outlook for the summer of 2015, based on the forecast of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), Petilla said there would be at least five weeks from April to May that the grid will be placed on red alert status.

“There could be two to three hours of rotating blackouts, with manual load dropping (MLD),” Petilla warned. MLD is the process of rationing power supply.

Power rationing will occur on the first two weeks of April and on the last three weeks of May.

On the other hand, the Luzon grid will be placed on yellow alert in the last three weeks of March, the last week of April and the first week of May.

A red alert means there is severe power deficiency while a yellow alert status means that contingency reserves are below the minimum level set by the regulator but does not necessarily mean power outages or blackouts. A white alert means the situation is back to normal.

Petilla said the Philippines will need 9,011 megawatts of power next year, higher than this year’s demand of 8,717 MW on the back of the projected growth in the economy. 

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), the government corporation tasked to manage state-owned power assets, meanwhile, said it is studying its options for Unit 1 of the Malaya Thermal Plant in Rizal to prepare it for the 2015 power situation. 

“We are currently studying options for the overhauling of Malaya unit 1 to make it available in time for the 2015 Malampaya shutdown. We hope to finalize this soon,” PSALM president Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said.

The deep water to gas Malampaya facility in Palawan will go on maintenance shutdown in March and April. 

Petilla earlier proposed the declaration of a state of emergency in the power sector invoking Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to give the government the authority to put up additional generation capacity.

The declaration of a state of emergency would allow the government, through PSALM to tap additional power capacity for the summer of 2015.

Under the plan, the government through PSALM will rent diesel-fired power facilities on short-term contracts of two years if possible.

The EPIRA prohibits the government from constructing power plants.

However, Section 71 of the law states that the President, upon determination of an imminent shortage of supply of electricity, may ask Congress for authority through a joint   resolution, to establish additional generating capacity under certain terms and conditions.

Congress, for its part, is set to deliberate on key amendments to the EPIRA that seeks to do away with the congressional approval to allow the President to exercise emergency powers in the event of a power crisis.

The amendments, as proposed by Misamis Occidental Rep. Henry Oaminal, seeks to remove Section 71 of the EPIRA.

This is the same provision of the law that Petilla wants President Aquino to invoke to avert the power crisis.

“We’re talking about an emergency, which means the President should be able to act quickly to avert greater damage to the economy. What if Congress is not in session? And even if Congress is in session, the process will take much time when the power crisis must be addressed swiftly,” Oaminal said.

Oaminal said a paragraph would be added to the EPIRA to allow the President to engage in contracts to generate power in areas where electricity supply is at crisis levels.

“At present, the government’s hands are tied and cannot just enter into contracts to generate power because of restrictions in the law,” he said.

Oaminal said there are enough safeguards in EPIRA and other laws that will prevent possible abuse. – With Paolo Romero