MANILA – There will be enough supply of electricity to cater to the increased demand during the summer season even amid the expected drought in the following months, the Department of Energy (DOE) said on Monday.
“From the supply side, nakikita natin is supisyente ‘yung ating supply so wala tayong problema sa March, April, May, June,” DOE spokesperson and undersecretary Felix William “Wimpy” Fuentebella assured in a press conference.
This comes as the state weather bureau earlier forecasted a probable occurrence of El Niño which may come in during the first quarter of the year and may affect 47 provinces.
“We’re looking at normal conditions in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao wherein the grid will remain stable and we’ll still have sufficient supply in summer,” added Energy Assistant Secretary Redentor Delola.
According to Delola, the Luzon Grid is expected to have a peak demand of 14,000 megawatts (MW) in May, but this will be catered by the additional input from other electricity sources.
“We expect this [peak demand] to occur in the month of May so ‘yung May talaga ‘yung tinitignan natin na maiigi,” he explained, noting that additional supplies of 150 MW is expected to come in this month, which will be upped to 455 MW by April.
For Visayas, a peak demand of 2,299 MW in November and December, and a peak demand of 2,130 MW in Mindanao are also seen during the same months.
“Sa Mindanao tayo makakatulog nang maayos kasi wala tayong inaasahang problema ng supply because of the sufficient reserves that we have in Mindanao,” said Delola.
“On the supply side, in terms of the monitoring function of DOE, we will as much as possible ensure that power plants will have minimal outages,” he elaborated.
For the upcoming midterm elections in May, Delola said the DOE has ordered a moratorium on the week before and after the polls to ensure that there will be no maintenance works during the period.
“They (power plants) have to be running during this period,” he said.
Looking ahead, Fuentebella urged the public to limit their electricity consumption to be more energy efficient.
“Kailangan maging conscious tayo sa ating energy efficiency and conservation campaign,” he said. (GMA News)
