Enough power supply next year, says ex-energy chief

MANILA, Philippines – The country is expected to have enough electricity next year to meet growing demands, especially during the May 2016 elections, Liberal Party (LP) senatorial bet and former energy chief Carlos Jericho Petilla said.

Petilla quoted Energy Sec. Zenaida Monsada, who declared during a Congressional hearing that next year’s power supply is projected at 13,300 megawatts while the demand is projected only at 12,000 MW.

 “The committed capacities, if they come in on time, is sufficient to meet the contingency reserve requirement by 2016,” Monsada said during the hearing.

Petilla is confident there would be no delays in the scheduled operation of new power plants like what happened last year, which prompted him to propose to President Aquino to invoke Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 to allow the government to tap additional power capacity.

“The key is to have sufficient reserves so that when a plant suddenly conks out, the grid would still be stable,” Petilla said.

In Mindanao, the prevailing power crunch is expected to be resolved as new power plants are expected to come online next year, including the Aboitiz’s Therma South Inc. with its 300-MW plant in Davao City and San Miguel Corp. Global’s 600-MW plant in Bataan.