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By Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo Reporter
A DAY after assuring the public
of uninterrupted power supply this summer, sections of Metro Manila
and nearby provinces were left in the dark as a number of plants the
National Power Corp. (Napocor) contracted to supply energy shut
down.
In a statement, Napocor blamed
the power outage on generation shortfalls caused by its failure to
anticipate the increase in demand for electricity.
Cyril del Callar, Napocor
president, said Wednesday’s peak demand in electricity shot up by
200 megawatts from the forecast 6,400 megawatts for the period, thus
straining the Luzon grid’s supply.
This was compounded by equipment
trouble at the 270-megawatt Bataan Combined Cycle Power Plant in
Limay town. Both the 225-megawatt Bauang and 600-megawatt Limay
power plants run by independent power producers (IPPs) contracted by
Napocor also shut down.
“We are now utilizing all
available power plants, including those running on coal, natural gas
and diesel, to address the situation. We are also making sure that
these power plants are running reliably and efficiently,” del
Callar said.
Only a day earlier, del Callar
said that maintenance work on power plants would be suspended to
ensure uninterrupted electricity during the upcoming election.
Napocor also assured that its power plants have adequate fuel supply
and that quick-start generating units would be available not only on
election day, but also during the subsequent counting of ballots and
canvassing of votes.
Napocor blamed the increase in
power demand on the extreme summer heat, which forced people to use
cooling appliances for longer-than-usual periods. Last year demand
for electricity peaked in May.
Napocor said that it expects
power to be restored in affected areas in the afternoon or the
evening.
The power troubles prompted
state-run National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) to declare a system
red alert at 8 a.m. in the Luzon grid due to lack of system
reserves.
This in turn prompted the Manila
Electric Co. (Meralco) to implement “a manual load dropping”
resulting in rotating power interruptions within its franchise area
until 12:30 p.m.
Because of the unusually high
demand of electricity, Meralco had to temporarily shut down power in
Bulacan and portions of Novaliches. TransCo, on the other hand, had
to cut off power supply in areas in Zambales (Subic and Castillejos
towns); Bataan (in the municipalities of Balanga, Orani, Limay,
Bagac, Orion) and Pampanga (in Guagua, Santa Rita, Bacolor, Lubao,
Mexico and Arayat towns).
“The power interruptions, which
could last up to four hours in different areas, started at 10:19
a.m. in the Meralco franchise area. Residential, commercial and
industrial customers may be affected by these rotating power
outages,” Elpi Cuna, Meralco vice-president and corporate
communication head, said.
The power interruptions was a
result of a generation deficiency of 450 megawatts for Meralco. This
was attributed to the cutting-in of Santa Rita Module 10 and the
diversion of coal intended for Cebu to the Pagbilao plant.
Meanwhile, the Energy Regulatory
Commission (ERC) said it would proactively set measures to avoid
blackouts similar to the ones experienced by California in the early
part of the decade.
The assurance was made after IPPs
expressed concern that the failure of Meralco to pay its power
suppliers may lead to massive blackouts similar to the ones that
crippled California in 2001.
“The ERC will do its best to
find avenues to prevent ‘buy high but sell low’ transactions and
expeditiously act on application of distribution utilities including
Meralco for the collection of generation charges from their
respective electricity consumers so as not to impair the financial
viability of power distributors,” Rodolfo B. Albano Jr., ERC
chairman, said.
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