Shorter power plant maintenance time could spell disaster, says group

Regulations on shorter allowable time for planned outages made it hard to properly maintain generators based on power plant manufacturers’ requirements and may increase unplanned outages, according to the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association (Pippa).

The industry group also called for government help in making the movement of foreign consultants and imported spare parts easier and faster considering pandemic-related restrictions had hampered power plant maintenance, which Pippa said might also lead to unplanned outages.

Pippa president and executive director Anne Estorco Montelibano, during a hearing conducted by the Senate energy committee, said power supply shortages could be addressed effectively if there were “reasonable and attainable standards.”

Montelibano said the availability of power generators was within industry standards, but the allowed planned outage days were shortened, making it hard to properly maintain equipment.

In December 2020, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) announced the issuance of stringent rules governing planned electricity outages, to promote accountability among power plant operators and the transmission grid operator.

For example, a power plant that runs on pulverized coal should not be out of service for more than 44.7 days in a year—including 27.9 days of planned outage and 16.8 days of unplanned outage.

Also, a power plant that runs on gas should not be out of service for more than 29.2 days—6.5 days of planned outage and 22.7 days of unplanned outage.

For a geothermal power plant, it should not be out of service for more than 19.7 days—six days of planned outage and 13.7 days of unplanned outage.

“By setting and giving specific parameters on the standard planned and unplanned outages, the generation companies are obligated to ensure that the generating plants are properly maintained and, thus, lessen the unplanned outages,” ERC Chair Agnes Devanadera said back then. On Thursday, Pippa’s Montelibano said planned outages were based on manufacturer’s instructions.

“Decreasing days of planned outage may increase forced outage,” she said. “[There should be] reasonable and attainable standards.” INQ