Power supply assured on ASEAN summit
Sunday, November 19, 2006
By MYRNA M. VELASCO
The country’s energy officials are assuring that appropriate contingency measures are in place to ensure reliable and efficient power supply during the 12th ASEAN summit in Cebu on December 7 to 14 this year.
National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) president Arthur N. Aguilar bared a dedicated line is readied to directly connect Power Barge 101 to the Shangri-La Mactan Hotel which is seen as alternative venue for the summit with apprehensions in case the Cebu International Convention Center is not completed on target date.
To shore up available power capacity in Cebu during the event, state-owned National Power Corporation (NPC) set transfer of Power Barge 101 which has a capacity of 32 megawatts.
The facility is currently moored in Muelle Osmeña in Lapu-Lapu City, and it will serve as back-up power in Cebu during that crucial meeting of ASEAN regional leaders.
"We are doing all technical adjustments, such as frequency release and all other necessary preparations," Aguilar said.
The TransCo chief executive though admitted that while priority is centered on Cebu’s power supply during that period, there is a probability that other areas, primarily Panay island, will suffer more frequent power outages.
"That is unfortunate for other areas, especially for Panay which is at the tailend of the grid," he stressed.
Aguilar disclosed further that part of TransCo’s preparations would be to upgrade the communications equipment of its field people, such as shifting to the use of 3G mobile phones.
After the strike of typhoon Milenyo in September, TransCo has not fully reeled yet from the trauma of the system-wide power outage, with it still burdened of repairing collapsed towers and other damage facilities in the transmission network.
The energy officials stressed they are one in the goal of assuring that the ASEAN summit would be concluded without experiencing the hassle of a single brownout.
All hotels in Cebu, where the delegates would be staying, have also been checked by TransCo’s system operator on their readiness to run their generator sets in the event of forced outage.
The completion of the Leyte-Cebu interconnection project last year served as a saving grace for Cebu’s power supply because this will allow transmission of higher volume of electricity supply from the geothermal plants in Leyte.
The hosting of the ASEAN summit in Cebu is seen as a channel for the Philippines to showcase various opportunities in enticing foreign direct investments flowing into the country. (MMV)
posted by philpower @ 6:32 PM,
