A lawmaker on Sunday said households and firms can help avert, or at least mitigate, the power outages that are expected to be experienced in Luzon this summer if they would only try their best in cutting their electricity consumption.
Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela, Minority Bloc in the House Committee on Energy, said all electricity consumers should support the government’s energy-saving program because “every kilowatt of electricity that is saved will definitely help mitigate the power shortage in the coming months.”
He also asked heavy electricity users in the private and government sectors to enlist in the government’s Interruptible Load Program (ILP).
“The ILP can only be effective and successful if all the heavy, large power users join the program and run their power-generating sets during the crisis period,” Albano said.
House Joint Resolution 21, which grants President Aquino emergency powers, wants the government to mainly use the ILP in generating additional power capacity to address the projected 745-megawatt (MW) power shortage from March to July 2015.
Albano said large, heavy power users with self-generating capacity, such as shopping malls, manufacturing-industrial plants, office and condominium buildings should sign up for the program at the soonest possible time as the Department of Energy (DOE) already warned of rotating brownouts in Luzon starting next month.
The DOE projected a power-supply shortage of at least 700 MW to 745 MW due to higher demand during summer and the reduced, insufficient supply because of the scheduled one-month maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya natural-gas facility in El Nido, Palawan, Albano said.
Malampaya gas fuels three natural gas-fired power plants with a total generating capacity of 2,700 MW, which accounts for 40 percent to 45 percent of Luzon’s power-generation requirements, he added.
In addition to the shortfall due to the Malampaya facility’s shutdown, Albano said, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration also warned of El Niño conditions affecting the country in the coming weeks that could adversely affect the water supply and operational capability of the country’s hydroelectric power plants, especially in Luzon.
“This is a very urgent situation that all users of electricity—from big industrial users to small home consumers—are now compelled to jointly attend to and solve together,” Albano said.
Albano also called on government agencies with power-generating capability to follow the lead of the House of Representatives by enlisting in the ILP.
The lower chamber was the first government agency to participate in the ILP with 1.7-MW committed capacity.
Albano also urged all government and private offices to run their air-conditioning units at 25 degrees Celsius in the summer months as their contribution in the nationwide energy-saving efforts.
Solar energy
Meanwhile, under House Bill (HB) 5319, Liberal Party Rep. Eric L. Olivarez of Parañaque City is pushing for the use of solar energy in government offices and other government-owned establishments to generate savings and protect the environment.
He said utilizing solar energy is more beneficial considering that it has almost no impact on the global climate, unlike electricity generated by power plants, which produces carbon-dioxide emissions that are harmful to the environment.
“Using solar energy will lessen pollution, which damages the natural environment that leads to global warming,” Olivarez said.
Olivarez added solar energy is limitless and will always be available for use, unlike nonrenewable resources like coal, oil and gas, which can only be used once.
HB 5319 mandates government offices and government-owned institutions to utilize solar energy for at least 30 percent of their electricity and/or thermal energy consumption in their day-to-day operations.
The bill also requires all government agencies and establishments to install solar panels on their buildings for the efficient conversion of solar energy into electricity that they need.
Olivarez said by utilizing solar energy, the country would be able to preserve the nonrenewable energy sources and leave some for the future generation.
“In this way, we will be able to meet our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs,” he said.