40 power plants face possible suspension

MANILA, Philippines — About 40 power generation plants may face suspension orders amid inaction even as tight electricity supply persists over the Visayas region, the country’s energy chief said.

To recall, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued 203 show-cause orders to power generation companies nationwide in July for their failure to submit mandatory self-assessment reports meant to monitor plant reliability and outages.

READ: DOE issues 203 show-cause orders to noncompliant power firms

“We’ve given them a warning. And we are now in the process of recommending suspension to ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission),” Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said when asked about possible sanctions or penalties on those that failed to respond to the agency’s show-cause orders.

Garin did not disclose the names of the operators, but noted the list included small diesel plants.

“We’ll wait for the process. But we’ve been meeting since last week on what to do. So, the decision is to send it to ERC for proper action,” she said.

The DOE is also calling for comments on its draft department circular on the implementation and enforcement of the power generator accountability policy.

Based on the draft rules, if a generation company fails to submit a written explanation or inaccurate

information, including all supporting documents, within the prescribed period, the agency can impose administrative sanctions.

READ: DOE threatens to blacklist 175 erring power plant companies

The issue may also be forwarded to the ERC for the suspension or revocation of its certificate of compliance or other authorizations.

The Visayas region has long been facing power supply woes, with yellow alerts raised almost every day, and red alerts during some periods if the supply is no longer enough to meet demand.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines earlier said that the region’s electricity supply may receive a boost by the end of August, as two large coal plants return to commercial operations. INQ