THE Department of Energy (DOE) assured stakeholders that the power crisis in the Visayas will be over in the next three weeks, with additional capacity coming on stream that will secure the region’s needs in the next five years.
In a meeting in Cebu City on Tuesday, Secretary Angelo Reyes said the several years of power shortages and almost daily rotation brownouts in the region are over.
“We have seen the worst. The days of darkness are over, and we are assured of a stable supply of power for the next several years,” Reyes said.
Distribution utilities, businessmen and other stakeholders all received good news from the meeting—enough capacity is on its way, power plants being constructed are beating deadlines and the much-awaited Wholesale Electricity Spot Market in the Visayas could start by the third quarter of 2010.
But the stakeholders’ meeting also underlined the need for new power plants in the region, which is expected to go into another round of power shortage by 2015 if no new capacity starts building now.
Raul Galano, officer in charge of system operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), said the Visayas will soon get its first comfortable power reserves in April with 42 megaWatts (mW) and by June to the tune of 134 mW. The region consumes roughly around 1,200 mW.
“In effect from 2010 to 2013, if there are no power plants that will go down, we have a good picture of our power reserves for the entire Visayas,” Galano reported in the meeting. He also echoed the concern that the power stability may only be temporary.
“I hope new power plants will be constructed in the Visayas during this time,” he said.
The proponents of the biggest power plants being constructed in the region also reported they will finish on or ahead of schedule. Cebu Energy Development Corp. (CEDC) reported its first 82-mW plants have been tested and synchronized by the end of February. Its two 82-mW units will also come in May and December 2010.
Its sister company, Panay EDC, is also set to operate two 82-mW units in October and December.
Kepco Philippines and its first of two 100-mW coal-fired power plant also announced it is 85-percent completed and should be online by October.
Officials of the business sector in the region said although they understand that building power plants is the discretion of the private sector, they would have wanted to hear what the DOE’s plan is in attracting investments in the region.
Gordon Alan Joseph, president of the Cebu Business Club, said he believes the local government units will also play a big role in attracting power investors to the region.
“We hope we will not go through another crisis again. We are confident the existing players have also laid plans for further expansions later on,” he said.
An official from the Cebu City government, however, is crossing his fingers about all the good news he heard during the meeting.
“All the projections that they based their computations on historical averages did not put into account the huge projects ongoing in Cebu, which will definitely require more power. We might surpass their expectations,” councilor Sylvan Jakosalem said. “We have the South Road Properties, all these hotels and now we’re the number one emerging business-process outsourcing destination, and all these require power.”
Jakosalem also expressed concern on the aging power plants and their capacity to supply reliable power.
Jesus Alcordo, president of the CEDC, said the DOE must reconstruct the way it handles the capacity numbers of the power generators. The former Energy Regulatory commissioner said instead of recording rated capacity of plants, what should be recorded is the dependable capacity.
“This way we will have a more accurate figure,” he said.
Philippine Electricity Market Corp. president Melinda Ocampo said the energy sector is on a “listening mode” as far as investments are concerned. She said the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has a big role to play in attracting investments, indirectly saying there is a need to increase generation rates in the region.
“The ERC is very crucial in terms of private investment and business. The true cost of producing power must be reflected in the rates,” she said.
published @ Businessmirror
