Davao City’s brownouts shortened; Lake Lanao water level stays low

INQUIRER MINDANAO FILE PHOTO

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Despite the mainstreaming of additional 105 megawatts from the Steag State Power Inc. into the Mindanao grid, there’s no let up in sight yet for Davao City’s rotating brownouts.

Ross Luga, corporate affairs chief of the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC), said the improved power supply has reduced the duration of the brownouts from the peak of five hours as the shortfall dipped to its lowest last week to a maximum of 2.5 hours during peak hours and an hour during off peak periods this week.

But according to a DLPC statement, the power supply remains precarious as the water level in Lake Lanao remains low, and longer brownouts remain a likelihood.

Since May 9, DLPC has not implemented any interruption during the off-peak hours of midnight to 8 a.m. as the additional power supply from Steag SPI has partly eased the demand.

DLPC told consumers to expect longer brownouts since the power supply remains unstable because of the lowering water level from the hydropower plants in Agus and Pulangi and the forecasted dry season in June.

The power outages, which reached five hours last week have angered consumers, who discovered they have to contend not only with the inconvenience and income losses, but higher electric bills as well.  Mohayna Boncarota, a small storeowner, said her electric bills have gone up from only P700 in April to over P1,000 this month.

Luga said the higher cost of electricity has been due to the fact that DLPC has been tapping expensive sources of power, aside from the relatively cheap hydropower, to cover the shortage of supply.