CEBU CITY, Philippines—Consumers in Metro Cebu have started to feel the effect of the power shortage triggered by the shutdown of three power plants.
Visayan Electric Co. (Veco), main power distributor in Metro Cebu, started cutting power to households and businesses in the metropolis at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday after National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) advised Veco of the need to shed off 17 megawatts (MW) from its existing supply of power.
Mark Kindica, Veco chief of engineering operations group, said the impact of the shortage on consumers was cushioned by Veco’s Interruptible Load Program (ILP), which allows businesses to use their generators to spare households from the brownouts.
Kindica said Apo Cement Corp. in Naga City agreed to use its own generator, which was capable of producing 7 MW, helping Veco meet the NGCP requirement to shed off 17 MW from existing supply.
Veco removed 10 MW from the electric supply that it distributes to two villages in this city—Mambaling and Basak San Nicolas—which suffered from a 40-minute power interruption.
More outages
At 3:09 p.m. more electricity was cut as a power plant in Malitbog town, Leyte province, tripped off, resulting in automatic outages in some parts of Metro Cebu, according to NGCP.
Kindica said Veco would have to implement rotating brownouts in other areas depending on the advice of NGCP.
The Visayas grid no longer has power reserves after three power plants that provided at least 200 MW to the grid went on emergency shutdown on Monday.
These are Cebu Energy Development Corp. (CEDC) in Cebu (82 MW), Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) in Iloilo (82 MW) and the geothermal power plant of Energy Development Corp. in Tongonan town, Leyte (36 MW).
CEDC and PEDC run coal plants.
Mae Melchor, CEDC spokesperson, said one of the firm’s three generating units underwent an emergency shutdown on May 16 to fix a problem on its boiler.
“Boiler problems are normal for thermal power plants. As of today, CEDC operators are working on the repairs,” she said.
Heat means more power
Melchor said the repair would usually last for six days.
CEDC and PEDC told the Department of Energy (DOE) that they would try to finish the repair by May 22 and May 25.
Antonio Labios, DOE director for Central Visayas, said the intense heat during the summer months had spiked power demand, straining the already limited power supply of the Visayas grid.
Based on DOE records, the normal power demand during the summer months is 1,300 MW. But power demand went up by as much as 1,500 MW for the months of April and May.
The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) yesterday asked its members to heed the call to join Veco’s ILP to minimize the impact of the power shortage.
“We are living in one community. I am urging all the business establishments who are participants of the voluntary load-shedding to help Cebu’s economy by running their generators,” said Lito Maderazo, CCCI immediate past president.