Energy officials: Power plants needed in Panay island
Energy officials led by secretary Angelo Reyes is pushing for the construction of power plants on Panay Island to address the energy supply problems of Western Visayas and the Visayas power grid.
Reyes made the pitch for new plants at a briefing here on Thursday as he acknowledged a power supply crisis in Western Visayas.
While he said that he understands the concerns raised by environment and religious groups on the safety of coal plants, Reyes, former Environment secretary, said the coal plants will help resolve the power supply problem "until renewable (energy sources) are here."
Reyes acknowledge that the country "failed to seriously plan" for energy infrastructure needs.
"We are suffering that miscue," he said in a speech before hundreds of officials and energy industry stakeholders.
Brownouts have become frequent on Panay and Negros Islands in recent months due to the inability of the Visayas power grid to fully meet the power demand of the islands of Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol and Leyte-Samar.
The Department of Energy has recorded 13 days with power interruptions in Western Visayas in March and 23 days last month.
The Visayas grid gets most of its power supply from the geothermal plants in Leyte which exports 360 mw to Cebu and 30 mw to Bohol. Cebu in turn exports 80 mw to Negros which transfers 55 mw to Panay Island.
Generation plants also add to the power supply including 262 mw in Cebu, 175.5 in Negros and 127.3 mw in Panay.
But as of April 28, the peak demand of Panay has reached 189 mw with a deficit of 30.6 mw while peak demand in Cebu increased to 534 mw, with a deficit of 62 mw. Negros also has a deficit of 31 mw because its peak demand rose to 197 mw.
A deficit exists if the power supply is less than the actual peak demand plus a 13.1 percent (of the peak demand) reserve.
The DOE projects that the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid will need a total of 261 mw by 2010 to avert a power shortage.
Antique Gov. Salvacion Zaldivar-Perez, chair of the Regional Development Council in Western Visayas, said the power supply problems is taking its toll on the region's economy and investments.
"Hotels, restaurants, and other business are complaining because of disruption in their businesses. They also incur additional expenses in operating generators," Perez said in an interview.
National Power Corp. (Napocor) President Cyril del Callar said they will bring in 30 1-mw modular generators starting this month to provide an additional 30 mw for Panay Island.
The generators which will operate 12 hours per day will be stationed either in the Napocor substation on Panit-an town in Capiz or near the power barges in Iloilo City.
Oppositors to the coal-fired power plants said the power supply needs should be addressed by tapping and investing on renewable sources of energy and by enhancing the transmission lines in the Visayas grid which, they say, limit the transfer of power from the Leyte plants to the whole grid.
Protesters from the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, who held a picket in front of the Sarabia Manor Hotel where the briefing was held, said the government is forcing consumers to accept coal plants because it has "renege on its responsibility of ensuring cheap, safe and stable" energy supply by privatizing energy companies and agencies and leaving it to private investors to set up generation plants.