SEN. Sherwin T. Gatchalian, seeking to ensure steady power supply, pressed the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to fulfill its mandate of contracting ancillary services.
Reminding that the Philippines is typhoon-prone, the senator stressed uninterrupted power supply is necessary in “supporting critical infrastructure and services for recovery and rehabilitation efforts in times of calamities.”
Gatchalian asserted that “the flow of energy supply should be stable and dependable to ensure operational reliability and prevent power outages that adversely impact the lives of our people and the economy in general,” adding “the NGCP must do its job and contract ancillary services.”
Airing his appeal as sitting vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, Gatchalian made the call following last month’s elevation of the grid status in Luzon “from yellow to red alert” followed by rotational brownouts that occurred in several provinces due to the shutdown and lower output of certain power plants.
Gatchalian emphasized the urgency in the need to “contract ancillary services” considering that the existing 899 megawatts (MW) of such ancillary services are set to expire by 2023 and another 568 MW by 2024, recalling that about 1,511 MWs of ancillary services have already expired in 2020.
“Hindi dapat nagpapabaya ang NGCP sa tungkulin nito na pag-contract ng ancillary services upang masiguro natin ang tuluy-tuloy na supply ng enerhiya at maiwasan ang perwisyo na dulot ng palagiang brownout sa ating mga mamamayan,” the senator stressed.
At the same time, he recalled the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) earlier issued a show cause order to NGCP for “its failure to comply with its obligations on contracting ancillary services.”
Moreover, Gatchalian encouraged the ERC to continue monitoring those agencies mandated to “ensure delivery of adequate power supply throughout the country.”