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GOVERNMENT-RUN National Power Corp. (Napocor) on Friday
assured that the country will have more than enough
power supply during the May 14 local and senatorial
polls, as it sought to allay fears that the elections
might be marred by power interruptions.
Data
from the Power Economics Department show, according to
Napocor, that Metro Manila and the rest of
Luzon will have a
total supply of 7,193 megawatts on Election Day, which
is more than enough to meet the projected peak demand of
5,600 megawatts.
In the
Visayas, Napocor said the available capacity has been
placed at 1,159 megawatts, as against a peak demand
forecast of 928 megawatts, while Mindanao will have an
available supply of 1,400 megawatts as against a peak
demand of roughly 900 megawatts.
Napocor
said it has partnered with the National Transmission
Corp. (Transco), the National Electrification
Administration (NEA) and the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco)
to form the interagency Task Force Halalan 2007, which
was created to minimize if not altogether prevent power
outages on Election Day and during the critical period
when the ballots are counted and election results are
canvassed.
The
Department of Energy functions as the lead agency of the
task force.
Apart
from ensuring adequate power supply in all of the grids,
Napocor has also drawn up a number of contingency
measures to ensure that the election process remains
brownout-free.
Among
other measures, according to Napocor, is that it has
suspended all pre-scheduled preventive maintenance works
in all of its power plants from May 12 to 17 to ensure
the availability of all generating units.
Napocor
has also ensured that all of its power plants have
adequate fuel supply and that quick-start generating
units will be available not only on Election Day but
also during the subsequent counting of ballots and
canvassing of votes.
Napocor
further added that it has made arrangements for back-up
personnel and additional maintenance crews in its power
plants, which can be tapped to assist in case of
emergency restoration efforts.
Among
other functions, Task Force Halalan seeks to establish a
systematic monitoring and reporting scheme that will
enable its member-agencies to immediately act on
incidents of power interruptions.
Finally,
the group is tasked to provide the general public with
fast and accurate information on the power supply
situation in all parts of the country.
For its
part, Transco said it would also suspend maintenance
works on all of its transmission lines and substations
from May 12 to 17 to ensure that all transmission lines
are available.
Emergency diesel generators, station batteries, and air
compressor systems in all Transco substations nationwide
have likewise been tested for reliability.
Transco
has also said that it will place all of its transmission
line crews, power system maintenance and
telecommunications personnel on stand-by duty, while
off-duty control center and substation personnel are
expected to make them available on an “on-call” basis. |
