Saturday, April 14, 2012

Comment on Mindanao Power Summit

Mayor Celso Lobregat on Friday presented during the Mindanao Power Summit in Davao City, the manifesto of Zamboanga City power stakeholders relative to the power situation in the area.

The manifesto, signed by representatives from various sectors, was the result of a meeting convened by Lobregat in cooperation with House Deputy Speaker Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar on Wednesday, where power stakeholders in this city were asked to share and discuss issues and concerns related to power.

"Given the growing demand and limited supply of power in the entire Mindanao, we support the establishment of baseload power plants in Zamboanga City consistent with environmental laws and policies, and seriously urge the National Government to create a conducive environment for the private sector to invest in the power sector and expedite the processing serious proposals and, to explore all alternative sources of energy," the manifesto stated.

The Mindanao Power Summit, organized by Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chairperson Secretary Luwalhati Antonino in collaboration with the Department of Energy (DOE), was graced by no less than President Benigno Simeon Aquino, III.

It was intended to present the overview of the real Mindanao power situation, generate and discuss consensus attendant to the power problem and the corresponding immediate solutions and assure the general public of definitive measures taken not just by the government but also by the power stakeholders.

Lobregat, together with Salazar who briefed Summit participants about Mindanao legislative energy measures, and other Zamboanga stakeholders, attended the event in Davao on Friday.

The manifesto contains issues, concerns and proposed solutions tackled during the Wednesday meeting in City Hall.

It highlighted the initial partial solutions that included the Zamcelco-TMI contract and implementation of the inter-ruptible load program (ILP) and Time of Use (TOU) pricing; the medium-term issue and solutions which included exploring other alternative sources of energy and the immediate need of Zamcelco to explore the possibility of purchasing, installing and operating diesel-based reserve power facilities and the need for Zamcelco to program the early purchase of additional power demand requirements from other sources for the years 2013 to 2015; and the long term issue and solution.

Zamboanga City's peak demand is 81 megawatts (MW) while Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) and National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) supply is only pegged at minimum 52-MW for April 2012 and 60-MW for June 2012.

The load allocation expected to be delivered for the month of April with 80-MW load to maintain system generation matrix is only 48-MW and 56-MW for the month of June.

These translate to five hours of brownout for the month of April and four hours brownout for the month of June.

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