BY EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO Reporter

It was lights out again for a number of areas in Luzon on Wednesday after another power plant bogged down.

Data from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines showed that Luzon suffered a power generation deficiency of 236 megawatts after production from the 700-megawatt Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan hydroelectric power plant in Laguna was affected by the prolonged dry spell.

Two units of the hydroelectric plant are running at 152 megawatts each. A third unit, however, is unavailable because of low elevation at Caliraya Lake.

Current elevation is 286.16 meters, which is below the required elevation of 286.50 meters to keep all three units of Kalayaan running. The critical water level at the reservoir is below 286 meters.

The power plant is operated by J-Power and Sumitomo Corp. of Japan under a build-operate-transfer contract with state-owned National Power Corp.

Because of limited production from the hydro facility, Manila Electric Co., the country’s largest distribution utility, implemented one-hour rotating brownouts in parts of Metro Manila. Also affected were areas in the provinces of Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Quezon.

Angelo Reyes, Department of Energy secretary, said that should the hydro plant continue to be impaired by low water levels, power supply deficiency in Luzon, the Philippines’ main group of islands, may worsen.

“If the water levels continue to come down, then we might be experiencing some difficulties in Luzon,” he added.

The problem being experienced in the hydro plant adds to a growing list of power plants that have conked out one after the other for various reasons since the start of the year.

In January, the alleged breakdown of the Sual plant and the inability of recently privatized power plants to operate resulted in rotating brownouts in Luzon.

Businessmen are worried about the brownouts happening all over the country, an official of a business group said also on Wednesday.

Francis Chua, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president, told reporters that they have received many complaints about the power shortage from its members and chapters nationwide.

“They want the government to do something about the energy crisis,” he said, or they “might close shop.”

“Without electricity, industry cannot function properly,” Chua added.

He said that the brownouts are “not healthy” for business, adding that potential investors may put off investment plans because of the deteriorating energy situation in the country.

On Monday, the country’s largest island group suffered from rotating brownouts again after three major coal-fired power plants (Sual, Masinloc and Calaca) were hit by alleged technical problems.

National Grid, which manages the country’s power system, said that as of Wednesday Masinloc 1 (315 megawatts), Calaca 2 (180 megawatts) and Santa Rita 30 (260 megawatts) were still down. Also, the Magat hydroelectric plant was running only at 30 megawatts instead of 90 megawatts as a result of low water levels in its reservoir.

Power generation capacity was pegged at only 6,585 megawatts also on Wednesday compared with peak demand of 6,821 megawatts.
With report from Ben Arnold O. De Vera