THE government is preparing for four weeks of yellow alert, or thin power reserve, next year, the recently filed joint resolution granting President Aquino emergency powers said.
The House Committee on Energy, chaired by Liberal Party Rep. Reynaldo Umali of Oriental Mindoro, filed the Joint Resolution 21 granting the President several options—except to buy or lease generators—to avert the looming power shortfall in summer next year.
“In the course of congressional hearings conducted, it was revealed that in week 14 [April] of 2015, a maximum projected shortfall of 1,004 megawatts [MW], of which 600 MW is needed to meet the required dispatchable reserve, and 404 MW is needed to meet the required contingency reserve. Corollary, a total of four weeks of yellow alert is projected for the critical period,” the resolution said.
The resolution was principally authored by Umali, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II.
It said that additional generating capacity shall be sourced from the Interruptible Load Program (ILP), fast tracking of new committed projects, and plants for interconnection and rehabilitation; and adoption and execution of energy efficiency and conservation measures shall be pursued vigorously in both public and private sectors.
The resolution said that the authority granted to the President shall take effect on March 1 until July 31, 2015, to cover additional generating capacity required for the period of the critical power shortage unless sooner withdrawn by the President, upon the recommendation of the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC).
On September 12 President Aquino requested the House of Representatives and the Senate for authority to establish additional power-generating capacity to ensure the energy requirements of the country during periods of very tight energy supply as a strategic response to the need for specific, focused and targeted acquisition of additional energy capacities to meet the imminent power shortage in the Luzon grid due to the Malampaya turnaround, increased levels of forced outages of power plants, and delays in the commissioning of committed power projects.
Emergency powers
SECTION 71 of Republic Act 9136, also known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, provides that Congress may, upon the determination by the President of an imminent shortage of the supply of electricity, authorize the President, through a joint resolution, to provide for the establishment of additional generating capacity.
Umali, the co-chairman of the JCPC, said that as of Wednesday last week, there are already ILP-committed 1,000 MW.
Based on established protocols, ILP is implemented during a red-alert status (minimal power reserve) upon notice issued by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines and the distribution utilities informing ILP participants to deload from the grid.
The ILP is a voluntary program whereby businesses such as malls and factories that have their own generators can be disconnected from the power grid in times of short supply, and can sell any excess power they generate to distributors.
Through the ILP, the aggregate demand for power from the system will be reduced to a more manageable level, helping ensure the availability of supply during the summer season.
Currently a total of 29 firms, including those not listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange, have so far enrolled in the ILP, and are ready to drive their backup generators.
Aircon users
NATIONALIST People’s Coalition Rep. Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela also urged users of air conditioners, especially heavy power users like malls, as well as homeowners to do their share in saving electricity to help avert the feared power-supply shortage in the summer of 2015.
Albano said this is one of many other simple energy-saving actions that everyone can do to help save electricity and prevent power outages next year.
“Efficient use of power translates to efficient energy consumption which, in turn, results in reduction of use of electricity at all levels which—when collectively measured—translates to megawatts in power savings and millions of pesos saved too,” Albano, member for the Minority Bloc of the House Committee on Energy and former executive director of the JCPC.
Albano made this call in the light of thin power reserves in the summer of 2015 which could result in power outages, even as he backed the campaign of the Department of Energy urging malls, private building owners, government offices and even households to turn the thermostat of their cooling systems to 25 degrees Celsius from March to June next year.
Albano added that energy-saving experts said electric turning off lights and unplugging appliances not in use can reduce energy consumption up to 10 percent at the very least.