Meralco electricity supply set after rains fill up dams
MANILA, Philippines — Heavy rainfall brought about by recent typhoons, along with the reopening of the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Ilijan gas-fired power plant, would ensure enough electricity supply within the franchise area of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the power distributor announced last week.
Larry Fernandez, Meralco’s head of utility economics, told reporters that rains from Typhoons Goring and Hanna helped in replenishing the supply in dams that power hydroelectric plants.
This comes amid fears that the El Niño weather phenomenon, which is characterized by drier-than-normal conditions, will be at its worst in the latter part of the year and potentially result in a water supply shortage.
“For the fourth quarter, the recent rains helped our dams and now they’re available for supply in power,” Fernandez said.
Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara had warned that power generated from hydroelectric power plants may drop by 75 percent in December, raising chances of power interruptions in areas dependent on these facilities for electricity.
The Meralco official also noted the Ilijan plant in Batangas province operated by conglomerate San Miguel Corp. improved supply reliability.
“We are pleased to see that they have resumed operations … that helped the supply-demand situation in the Luzon grid,” Fernandez said.
To recall, the power plant went offline on June 5 last year after supply deliveries from the Malampaya gas field ceased.
It went online again on June 1, the Department of Energy confirmed, through the liquefied natural gas supplies received by Linseed Field Power Corp. in April.
