Energy execs insist on option to rent backup power

MANILA, Philippines–Unable to rely solely on a program meant to ease load demand from Luzon’s power grid, the Department of Energy (DOE) wants to keep open the option of renting generation plants to cope with the anticipated power crisis in the summer of 2015.

The House of Representatives’ energy committee may have all but ruled out the option of allowing the DOE to rent generation sets for backup power, but energy officials have not given up. They will still push the option by invoking a provision of a joint resolution giving the government special powers to deal with the expected power crunch.

Director Irma Exconde said that, to date, the gap between supply and demand—including the required buffer supply—could reach up to 700 megawatts (MW). This means that, in the event of forced power outages by big power generation facilities or huge spikes in electricity use, rotating outages (commonly referred to as brownouts) will take place on certain days next summer.

A deficit of 100 MW in power requirement will translate to an hour’s worth of outage, director Mylene Capongcol said.

Rep. Reynaldo Umali (second district, Oriental Mindoro), chair of the House committee on energy, said the panel would still back President Aquino’s request for emergency powers.

But the joint resolution authorizing the request will focus on encouraging more participants to the interruptible load program (ILP) to ease energy demand, as well as conservation and project fast-tracking measures, Umali said.

The committee also pushed back the target date for the joint resolution granting emergency powers to Aquino before Dec. 1 instead of passing it this month.

To date, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has signed up 25 companies with an aggregate deloading capacity of 155 megawatts (MW), spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said in a phone interview.

Meralco president and CEO Oscar S. Reyes earlier said the country’s top distribution utility hoped to sign up a total of 450 MW of capacity for the ILP next summer.

Under the interruptible load program, participating companies may be called upon to voluntarily use their own power generating units, or gensets, to ease demand from the grid during peak hours or during a supply deficit.

Tentatively, the DOE has also factored in about 180 MW of ILP capacity in its calculations. It also noted that there could be additional capacity from several power projects, such as Millennium Energy Inc.’s 100 MW Navotas diesel power barge and the 36 MW from the rehabilitation of the Limay gas power plant. About 100 MW will come from First Gen Corp.’s Avion gas power plant, 20 MW from First Gen Corp.’s rehabilitation of the Bauang diesel power plant, 60 MW thermal power plant from JG Summit, and 20 MW from CBK Power Co. Ltd.’s Botocan hydroelectric power plant.

Consumer group Power (People Opposed to unWarranted Electricity Rates) welcomed the decision of the House energy committee to drop the proposal to rent or buy generating sets to address a projected power shortfall next year.

“There is no need for drastic emergency powers to address this situation,” Power said in a statement, adding that the proposal was expensive and could cost taxpayers up to 10 billion.