Power supply crunch seen next summer

POWER SHORTAGE A possible power supply crunch is looming over Luzon, according to the governments energy chief.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras on Tuesday warned of a possible power supply shortage of about 300-400 megawatts in Luzon should the peak demand in Luzon rise to 7,900 MW by the summer of next year.

The shortage, however, could be addressed if the public—from the heavy industrial users to retail power consumers—would help conserve electricity, Almendras said during the 2nd Philippine Energy Efficiency Forum hosted by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).

Almendras explained that a 10-percent reduction in electricity consumption would help ease the expected power supply crunch and even redound to savings of as much as P59 billion.

“Such savings would not require us to build more power plants that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are really a lot of advantages,” Almendras said.

In the same event, ECCP president Hubert d’Aboville noted that the group has since been stressing the importance of advocating energy efficiency as a private sector initiative in response to the unresolved issues pertaining to securing energy supply.

“We felt that we have to bring together everybody so that we can have an integrated effort in promoting energy efficiency and achieve synergy,” d’Aboville said in his speech.

Almendras echoed the same sentiment, noting that “energy efficiency and conservation is an initiative that can be shared by the government and the private sectors. As the country experiences occasional energy crunch, it is important that this concept be mainstreamed in all sectors of the economy.”

“We have also been aggressively appealing to all Filipinos to take the shift—a change to a more sustainable lifestyle through practical and energy-efficient ways of living. Simple examples include switching to LED lights from a more power-consuming incandescent bulb,” Almendras said.

The DoE, he said, targeted a modest goal of achieving an average annual energy savings of 23 million barrels of fuel oil equivalent (MMBFOE) and 5 Gigagram (Gg) of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions avoidance.

“Imagine the possibilities of the little things you can do such as switching to more efficient bulbs or switching off electronics and appliances when not in use. For 2010, our power consumption reached 65,795 gigawatt-hours. Saving just 10 percent of that will translate to potential reserve power of 6.58 billion kilowatt-hours worth P59 billion,” Almendras explained.

“Based on our Power Development Plan [PDP], that same amount of savings can afford Luzon potential available power of 2,000 MW and will let the region forego any new capacity until 2015,” Almendras said.

“For Visayas, it will incur savings of around 500 MW and capacities will not be needed until 2018. Meanwhile, savings in [Mindanao] will be around 400 MW and will effectively solve power requirements until 2013,” he added.

These savings, however, would depend on the active involvement of the private sector, Almendras noted.

The energy chief reminded the public that rationalizing energy demand was crucial for a country like the Philippines, which largely imports its fuel requirements. By doing so, the country can minimize the impact of oil price volatility to the economy and at the same time reduce carbon dioxide emissions that are harmful to the environment.

This is the reason why Almendras continues to advocate energy efficiency and conservation measures even as he expects new power facilities to come online over the next four years. These facilities include a 300-MW peaking facility by next year, a 600-MW power plant by 2013 and another 600-MW facility by 2015.