Aquino calls for summit on Mindanao power crisis

Benigno Aquino III INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

OZAMIZ CITY—President Benigno Aquino III has called for a summit of stakeholders to come up with solutions to the power crisis gripping Mindanao.

The meeting is an offshoot of last week’s dialogue in Malacañang between the President and Lualhati Antonino, chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), which was aimed at drawing up immediate steps to stem the crisis.

The summit was originally set in Davao City on March 31 but was moved to sometime in April because of the necessary preparations.

Antonino broached the idea of a congressional inquiry into the problem last month, saying that the power crisis could be “artificial.” Even Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III is suspecting that the acute power shortage may be “contrived” and has renewed the call for the Senate to look into the situation.

In a statement, Pimentel said officials of National Power Corp. (Napocor) and the Department of Energy (DOE) must “explain in a full-dress Senate inquiry the main causes of the outages and the government’s apparent failure to anticipate the problem.”

Noting that the government’s energy officials were citing “conflicting reasons … as to its main causes,” he vowed to “look deeply into the allegations” of Antonino.

Reserves in Mindanao

Antonino has called for an inventory of power plants in Mindanao to look into the possibility of tapping their reserve capacities.

In a House inquiry into the power crisis early this month, she suggested tapping the reserve capacities of the plants, as well as embedded generators.

For instance, Antonino pointed out that the Pulangi 4 hydroelectric plant still has a 45-megawatt reserve capacity which can sustain demand in a few hours during peak loads.

The generation output of Agus 2, which has an installed capacity of 180 MW may still be increased without violating environmental conditions, she said.

“The solution to the problem is just within Mindanao’s backyard and not as far as the power barges in Navotas,” Antonino said.

On March 19, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras issued a circular to rationalize the available capacities in the Mindanao grid. He ordered Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), which has operational control over Napocor, to “fully utilize all available capacities of all power plants” in Mindanao.

At present, Napocor has control over 982.1 MW and 518.1 MW of thermal power plants, or a total of some 1,500.2 MW.

The DOE told PSALM to implement measures to increase the generation output of Napocor plants by selective dredging and flushing of the Agus and Pulangi rivers, and other steps.

The DOE told PSALM to “complete and accomplish on time all scheduled maintenance services and repairs on generating units.”

Earlier, National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), which oversees the distribution of power from Napocor, said one generating unit of Agus 7 with 27 MW capacity, and another of Agus 6 with 25 MW capacity had been on forced outages since Oct. 28, 2010, and Jan, 15, 2011, respectively.

Electric co-ops

The DOE also ordered the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to ensure within 30 days from the circular’s issuance that “additional power supply contracts from available capacities in the grid other than those of the generating facilities of PSALM are entered into by the electric cooperatives.”

The NEA has technical supervision over the electric cooperatives.

“The electric cooperatives are willing to do their part to swallow the bitter pill,” said Clint Pacana, executive director of the 33-member Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives (Amreco).

Most electric cooperatives oppose getting power from independent power producers as this would mean higher rates. But Pacana said Amreco was coming up with a proposed scheme whereby the impact of high-cost power on pass-on rate of retail electricity will be minimized.

In Zamboanga City, Pedro Soliven, president of Zamboanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Inc., described the power situation as “really crippling our economy.”

Frequent brownouts

Soliven said city residents were bracing for the worst because “we are going to experience eight to 10 hours of blackouts.”

The city consumes an average of 80 MW daily, but NGCP only allotted 60 MW—or a shortage of 20 MW.

Lawyer Jilhan Natividad, administrator of Ciudad Medical Center, said the frequent brownouts were “unannounced and fluctuating.”

“We may have automatic standby generator set enough to supply power to all our hospital equipment, rooms and laboratories, but the overhead cost of operation is going up,” Natividad said.

She said several hospital laboratory equipment had been busted due to the fluctuating power, “and we will be very appreciative if the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative can provide us with clear schedules on power outage.”

Celso Bayabos, manager of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines office in Zamboanga, said he had imposed a “no night flights” policy since March 23.

“We operate from sunrise to sundown until everything is back to normal,” Bayabos said. “Where on earth can you find an international airport that operates only from sunrise to sundown?” he asked.

He added that five units of the airport’s power current circuit regulator (CCR) were burned “due to fluctuating power supply and unannounced blackouts.”  The CCR provides electricity to light up the runway, approach and taxi way.

Caraga businesses

Abelardo Garcia, president of Butuan-Agusan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the power curtailment had affected commercial production in Caraga’s regional capital and had resulted in surging costs.

Hardest hit were the manufacturing and service sectors and the export-oriented wood processing firms, which recently registered lower production outputs, he said.

Jake Miranda, former president of Surigao Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said small-scale tourism and service-related businesses and the local fishery sector were also feeling the brunt of two-to-three-hour daily outages in Surigao City.

But Miranda said the mining sector, considered the province’s growth engine, had been spared owing to their independent power sources.

Except for Dinagat Island, Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Surigao del Norte are experiencing daily power interruptions. Dinagat’s electric cooperative generates its own power, said Sergio Dagooc, secretary general of the Caraga Region Association of Electric Cooperatives.

Butuan, Davao Norte

Butuan Mayor Ferdinand Amante Jr. said a memorandum of understanding had already been signed with a Japanese company for the construction of run-to-river mini-hydro plants next year in the city’s Barangay Taguibo.

Officials of the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco) said their hands were tied as to when to implement the rotating brownouts. The 120,000-member Daneco serves the entire province of Compostela Valley and more than half of Davao del Norte, including the cities of Tagum and Samal.

“When NGCP says we need to reduce the load in this particular area at a particular time, then we really have to follow it,” said Dean Briz, president of the co-op’s board of directors. “We are merely retailers and how much power NGCP gives us, then that’s it.” Reports from Ryan D. Rosauro, Germelina Lacorte, Franklin A. Caliguid, Julie S. Alipala and Frinston Lim, Inquirer Mindanao