Hontiveros: We must have assurance of continuous power supply for elections
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Risa Hontiveros said the country must be assured of a continuous power supply for the upcoming May elections, after the transmission service provider pointed out that there may be a thinning of power supply during this year's dry season.
"We need certainty that there will be continuous power supply in the country for the elections. Failure to ensure an uninterrupted power supply will compromise the integrity of our elections," she said in a statement shared by her media relations office on Thursday.
According to Hontiveros, unstable power supply can set back the voting time, and delay the transfer of results to servers from the polling precincts.
This comes days after the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) forecasted that the Luzon grid may experience thin operating margins- or the power in excess of demand- from April to June, driven by higher demand.
The privately-led firm also observed that some power plants extended their maintenance shutdown this month, while others decreased their committed generation output.
Hontiveros, who is running for Senate, also called on the Department of Energy to fulfill its assurance that there will be adequate and reliable power supply before, during and after the day of elections.
She added that energy players should have already identified safety measures to curb the projected thinning of supply.
Between May 31 and June 2 last year, the Luzon grid was placed on yellow and red alerts, due to thinning reserves, unscheduled maintenance shutdowns of power plants and higher demand. The entire island then experienced rotational power interruptions.
The NGCP issues a yellow alert when excess power is deemed insufficient to meet the power grid's regulating and contingency requirements, at 495 MW and 647 MW respectively. A red alert, on the other hand, is issued when the supply cannot meet consumer demand and the grid's regulating requirement.
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