Despite El Niño, power supply still manageable

Energy authorities said the country’s power situation was “manageable” even with the El Niño, a phenomenon characterized by below-average rainfall, given energy conservation measures and strict monitoring of new power plants that will go online.

Department of Energy (DOE) officials said the impact of El Niño would likely be minimal in Luzon and Visayas because the share of hydroelectric power plants to the overall grid supply was less than that in Mindanao. “Overall supply, including reserves, can meet demand,” DOE officer in charge Zenaida Monsada said.

According to DOE data , Luzon’s power supply as of August 2015 was 9,883 megawatts (MW) versus peak power demand of 8,889 MW, or a surplus of 994 MW.

In the Visayas, supply is 1,748 MW while peak demand is 1,623 MW, or a surplus of 125 MW. In Mindanao, supply is 1,457 MW while peak demand is 1,437 MW, or a surplus of only 20 MW.

Monsada said the department was finalizing new estimates on the effect of El Niño.

“Recent rains helped hydroelectric power plants in Luzon, so the impact of El Niño is not much,” Monsada said.

Former Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla, in a forum in Manila, also said the situation was “manageable.”

“However, close coordination among stakeholders will have to be implemented,” he said.

Petilla urged all stakeholders like electric cooperatives, consumers and generation companies to regularly monitor existing generating capacity and to determine if new power plants will produce electricity at the committed time.

He said most of the country could mitigate El Niño’s impact on power supply since new power plants were expected to go online soon.

Despite the manageable outlook, he said electric cooperatives, especially in Mindano, must start preparing for the long dry spell so they would not be caught by surprise next year. This means they must start contracting enough capacity as early as possible.
“There’s a need to prepare for El Niño because it is expected to last up to next year. There are alternative sources like diesel power plants which can be tapped by electric cooperatives,” Petilla said.

He stressed that Mindanao could not rely solely on water to be rationed by authorities because the priority of the National Water Resources Board was for drinking and agriculture. Hydropower plants only come in third in the water board’s priority.