RP power supply enough
Saturday, October 14, 2006
By Roderick T. dela Cruz
The Department of Energy yesterday assured that the Philippines will not experience a power shortage over the next two to three years.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said in a news briefing that Luzon would start to have a shortage of 150 megawatts by 2010 only because of government’s requirement to build a bigger reserve margin.
Lotilla was responding to a claim by Consumer and Oil Price Watch chairman Raul Concepcion that the country would suffer from rotating brownouts starting in the dry season of 2008, when power supply was predicted to be 1,500 mw short of the demand. Lotilla assured that government figures were more accurate.
Lotilla said peak demand in Luzon is expected to reach 7,878 mw although its required capacity should be 9,721 mw by 2010, which are manageable because of the islands total dependable capacity of about 10,526 mw. Required capacity refers to the peak demand plus the Energy Regulatory Commission-approved reserve margin above the peak demand of 23.4 percent.
Luzon will actually have a surplus of more than 2,000 mw by 2010, representing about 25.5 percent of the demand. However, this is below the ideal 30 percent reserve margin. Luzon currently has a reserve margin of 57.2 percent.
Lotilla said the “shortage” could be addressed through demand-side management, energy conservation and time of use pricing while new plants were being built.
He said power supply would become critical in Visayas by 2011 and in Mindanao by 2009. Visayas will need an additional 200 mw by 2011 and Mindanao, 100 mw by 2009.
The energy chief said despite the scheduled shutdown of the Malampaya gas pipeline for maintenance repair next month, energy supply would remain manageable.
He said First Gas Corp., operator of the Sta. Rita/San Lorenzo natural gas-fired power facilities, had assured that their plants would continue to deliver power using liquefied gas from Nov. 18 until Dec. 12.
He also said National Power Corp. could reactivate its diesel/oil-fired power plants in case of a shortage.
Manila Electric Co., meanwhile, said the government could prevent an impending increase in electricity prices caused by the drastic changes in bid prices at the wholesale electricity spot market.
Meralco, the country’s largest power distributor which obtains about half of its power requirements from the spot market, said it was one of the first parties that had noticed the changes in the behavior of electricity prices in WESM even before market operator Philippine Electricity Market Corp. began its investigation two weeks ago.
Meralco president Jesus Francisco said the rate increase could still be prevented in the ongoing investigations by a committee of the PEMC but declined to give details.
posted by philpower @ 4:11 AM,
