MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Thursday maintained that the government is doing what it can to solve the power shortage in Mindanao.
“It is not as if people are just standing idly by. They are making a solution because the power shortage is no joke,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said in Filipino at a televised press briefing on Thursday.
Mindanao, which suffered a black-out last February 27, has a power supply of 1,064 megawatts (MW) on Thursday, 158 MW short of its peak demand of 1,222 MW, Coloma said, citing figures from the Energy department.
Coloma added that the shortfall causes the chronic rotating brownouts that last two to three hours.
Meanwhile, Coloma said Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla still enjoys President Benigno Aquino III’s trust despite the persisting problem.
Petilla said the black-out was traced to a power trip in a Lanao Del Norte hydropower plant.
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