THE Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday said Luzon is now assured of an additional 570 megawatts (MW) of additional power-generating capacity, enough to thwart the issuance of red-alert notice within the grid.
DOE Assistant Secretary Redentor Delola said during a briefing on Monday afternoon that two new power plants are already on line. These are the coal power projects of SMC Consolidated Power Corp. in Limay, Bataan, and Pagbilao Energy Corp. in Quezon.
“Pagbilao is 420 MW; Limay is 150 MW. They are now connected to the grid and are now in the commissioning stage. They will continue to be commissioned all the way to commercial operation,” Delola said, when asked for the power-supply situation for Luzon during the summer months.
He added peak demand in Luzon is expected to hit 10,500 MW between the second and third weeks of May, with reserve expected at 1,500 MW during the period. Delola said the agency does not expect the issuance of a red alert by the grid operator, National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.
A red-alert notice is issued by the grid operator when the power reserve left on the grid is at a level considered as regulating reserve, or equivalent to 4 percent of the current demand. This means power interruption may occur.
“We are not worried for summer. Our worry is if the 570 MW will not come in and, simultaneously, there will be forced outage incidents. The worse could be yellow alert, but we do not expect that,” Delola said.
A yellow-alert notice means operating reserves have dropped below the required 647-MW contingency in Luzon, or equivalent to largest unit in Luzon, which is the 647-MW coal-fired power plant in Sual, Pangasinan.
Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian, meanwhile, has assured the public that no massive brownouts would happen this summer following the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) recently issued by the Court of Appeals against the suspension of four commissioners of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). “It’s a blessing that the four commissioners have returned for work, at least for the next 60 days, to resolve the pending cases,” Gatchalian said.
In December 2017 the Office of the Ombudsman served a one-year suspension to four commissioners of the ERC that were found liable for not implementing the Competitive Selection Process, thus unduly favoring certain distribution utilities. According to ERC Chairman Agnes Devanadera, the ERC received the memo from the Office of the President directing the implementation of the suspension on January 22.
The TRO provides a 60-day reprieve to the ERC to fully function as a collegial body in the approval of new requests and renewals of Certificates of Compliance (COC), as well as the granting of extensions of Provisional Authority to Operate and the crafting of important orders and resolutions concerning the power sector.
During a hearing of the Senate Committee on Energy last week, Gatchalian revealed that the demand for power increases by about 15 percent to 20 percent every summer. With the given period, the ERC expects the disposition and promulgation of 60 pending cases and the completion of the technical process for 40 new cases.
The ERC has recently approved two new COCs, while seven others are undergoing evaluation. Eight more COCs are pending for renewal, as they will be expiring by June 2018. Devanadera announced the body’s promulgation of a resolution for the adoption of rules to lower the cap on the allowable rate of system losses that can be passed on to consumers. The said resolution was promulgated on February 13.
Meanwhile, consumer-advocacy group CitizenWatch Philippines said the government must closely monitor and evaluate food, electricity and fuel prices to prevent arbitrary increases and profiteering.
Citing the 4-percent inflation recorded last week, the consumer group warned that it is only the beginning of the ripple effect caused by the enactment of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law, with fuel and power hikes coming up next.
“At the end of the day, it’s the ordinary Filipino consumers who are left with no choice but to carry the burden of the increase in prices, especially in fuel costs and electricity rates,” said CitizenWatch Philippines convenor lawyer Hannah Viola.
The first tranche of hikes in petroleum prices already took effect last month, including P2.97 per liter for gasoline, P2.80 per liter for diesel, P3.36 per liter for kerosene and P1.12 per kilo for liquefied petroleum gas, according to figures from the DOE. For electricity rates, the direct impact of the projected increase will be reflected on the blended generation charge attributable to additional excise tax on fuel and the transmission charge, which is now subject to valued-added tax. For this month, there will be an estimated P1.08-per-kilowatt-hour power-rate increase, or a total of P216 increase in the electricity bill for a typical household that consumes 200 kWh.