DOE: Power shortage in Mindanao to last for one more month

BY KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA NEWS
The Department of Energy said the power shortage in Mindanao will last for at least one more month.

"We will continue to experience the present level of shortages up to May 9," Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said in a report aired over GMA News' Saksi late Tuesday night.

The Energy Department had said that projected peak demand in Mindanao is 1,300 MW although the available capacity is only at 1,100 MW, excluding the required reserve margin to maintain the "integrity" of the Mindanao Grid which is pegged at 250 MW.

The same television report said the power shortage was reportedly caused by the lack of eletricity being produced by the hydroelectrical power plants in Mindanao due to heat brought by the dry season.

Almendras also explained that the reason they expect the power shortage to continue until May 9 is because of the need to shut down the Pulangi IV Hydroelectric Power Plant in Bukidnon for a maintenance check from April 9.

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You know what I think?

I think we can look at this current issue as a challenge or as a very big problem that can really change our country, for better or for worse.

First let me emphasize what makes this issue such a big problem not only to our economy but also to our country as a whole. 

• Because of the power shortage in Mindanao there are rotational brownouts all over the region, and for some places who were not informed of the schedule they end up unprepared for the brownout; thus, sudden change in the life of certain individuals. For instance when I attended the graduation of my cousin in Davao Oriental, in the middle of their ceremony a brownout happened; and since it is a small town, the school has no generator. The suppose-to-be important moment of my cousin was celebrated with candles and dullness. Also in the Zamboanga International Airport, they had to cut its night operations due to the damage caused by the brownouts to their equipment.
  
• People (specifically the people in the Government) are starting to be alarmed with the power shortage in Mindanao and with this they try to make an immediate solution before the power shortage reaches the other regions. Some members of the House of Representatives are reportedly proposing that President Benigno Aquino III should give emergency powers to address the situation. But gladly PNoy did not ask for special power, and for those who proposed such special powers didn't even have an idea of what powers they were talking about. Because as we should remember that in the past, Congress had granted emergency powers to former President Fidel Ramos in 1992 when the country was also faced with a severe power crisis. Around 40 independent power producers reportedly signed contracts with the government, which caused an energy oversupply and high energy costs for the consumers.
  
• Now the government is in the process of sending energy barges to Mindanao to help ease the shortage, but with this the consumers (which is us) have to pay more. The power barges are by the way are owned by the private sectors; thus, fear of monopoly and skyrocketing power prices.

Now, instead of just looking at this issue as an economic problem, we should also look at this issue in an another point of view. What I'm trying to say is that this issue is also a challenge imposed not only to our government but also to us (citizens of the Philippines).

Thus the following:

• The administration is selling out P2.6 billion for the rehabilitation of units 1 and 2 of hydroelectric power plant on August 6 in Mindanao. He said the hydropower plant, built in 1953, has a life span of only 30 years and now because of the power shortage the 59-year-old hydropower plant will be hopefully changed.
  
• The power shortage does not only teach us the scarcity of our country's resources (specifically electricity), it also helps us to be more aware of our economy and environment; and because of this awareness we also learn to conserve and save.
  
• Since Filipinos (you and I ) are known to be the sort of people who learn from their mistakes, the government is now looking into the possibility of utilizing renewable energy and also taking appropriate plans for the current issue and also for the future.