BExpect more repair work of this nature on Visayan Electric Company’s power lines in the coming days to ensure no brownouts on Election Day, even as energy officials declare a ‘yellow alert,” indicating a low power reserve in the Visayas. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
Cebu is still in the middle of a water crisis resulting from a prolonged dry spell and it is about to face another concern, a low power reserve.
Cebu, and the rest of the Visayas, have been placed on “yellow alert” after several power plants in the interconnected Visayas and Luzon grids were placed on preventive maintenance ahead of the May 9 elections, creating a shortfall in standby power during the peak hours from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
With the rising heat brought on by the summer season, exacerbated by the dry spell, demand for electricity has also risen.
Last Thursday, the Visayas grid registered a peak demand of 1,700 megawatts, or about 300 mw more than the normal demand of from 1,300 mw to 1,400 mw, according to Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada.
Despite being under Yellow alert, Monsada assured there was enough power supply in Cebu, even with its ‘thin’ power reserve.
“It doesn’t mean that if there’s a yellow alert, then there’s brownout,” Monsada told reporters during a forum at Cebu Parklane International Hotel in Cebu City yesterday.
She also assured that polling centers and voting places in the country would not experience power outages during the critical election period or from May 2 and until the termination, conclusion of votes and the proclamation of winning candidates. The national and local elections will be held on May 9.
“No power plants will undergo maintenance during the critical period,” she told the reporters.
Monsada was in Cebu yesterday as part of the Department of Energy’s campaign and information drive for “Task Force Election 2016” that was meant to ensure a stable and continuous supply of power during the critical election period.
“Karon, patong patong ang maintenance ng mga planta para ma check nila in advance and para pag-abot ng eleksyon maayo ang (The power plants are undergoing preventive maintenance one after another right now to ensure that come election time, they will all be in good) working condition,” said the Cebuano-speaking Monsada, who hails from Ormoc City in Leyte.
“Let us pray that there will be no power interruption during critical period,” Monsada added.
She advised consumers in Visayas not to use appliances during the peak hours (5 p.m. to 7 pm.) and instead use it in the morning hours.
She likewise assured that the Interruptible Loading Program (ILP) would not yet be necessary in the Visayas unless it would be placed on ‘red alert’ advisory, or when there would be actual shortage of power supply.
With ILP, she explained, the big power consumers with generator sets would be asked to self-generate electricity to ease demand from the grid at peak hours.
“There’s nothing to worry about because we’re still able to manage. We still have enough supply to meet the demand,” a source from grid operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) however said.
The yellow alert is issued in reference to the reserve level, which has gone down because consumption has gone up due to the searing heat while supply has gone down because two generating units with total capacity of about 120 MW, were down.
Based on the NGCP website, the Visayas had a system capacity of 1968 mw as of 1 p.m. yesterday, while demand peaked at 1786 mw, leaving a reserve of only 182 mw. The grid requires total reserves of over 250 mw daily.
A yellow alert means the reserve level in the grid has gone below the required contingency reserve, the source said. The contingency reserve is equivalent to the capacity of the largest generating unit in the grid, which is 103 mw in the Visayas grid. Aside from contingency reserves, the grid also needs dispatchable reserve and regulating reserve.
“Under the Philippine Grid Code, we (NGCP) are mandated to issue alerts similar to what Pagasa does. We always have to operate with reserves,” the source said.
The lack of augmentation power from Luzon further brought down reserves yesterday morning, but the situation was corrected in the afternoon when Luzon was able to send 44 mw to the Visayas.
CONTINGENCY AND PROACTIVE MEASURES
The Visayas Electric Company (VECO) meanwhile presented in the same forum its election contingency plan where it assured a steady power supply on election day.
Veco system operations head Juan Miguel Exaltacion said they would make sure that all power lines and the stability of power supply leading to polling precincts, as well as the electrical wiring in the voting areas, would be checked ahead of the May 9 elections.
Veco would also place on standby mobile 5-kilowatt generators in strategic polling precincts to ensure ready power supply in the event of a brownout.
“We have also crew that will be deployed during a day before and after election for quicker response,” he added.
He said that on election day, there would be 18 mobile crews in Veco’s entire franchise area, 20 contractor personnel and electricians (for meter and service drop related concerns), four emergency dispatchers, six emergency call takers, eight substation crews, and four line contractor gangs.
The motorbike emergency crews are assigned to respond to customers in remote areas, he added.
Lawyer Jill Verallo, Veco reputation management manager, also assured there would be no power interruption in the coming days as Veco has a contracted standby power of 380 mw.
But last Thursday, Veco had to implement a rotational brownout for one hour after power lines in Luzon tripped and cut off the flow of reserve power from the Luzon grid.
Affected by the brownouts were Barangays Guindaruhan, Poblacion, Calajoan, Lipata, Tungkil, Tungkop, Tulay, Pakigne and Tunghaan, all in Minglanilla; and Naga City’s Barangays Tuyan, Cantao-an, Colon, Inayagan and Cogon.
HEAT INDEX CONTINUE TO RISE
As the demand for power rises, so does the heat index.
Yesterday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophyiscal and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) Mactan recorded the highest heat index in Cebu so far this year.
At 12:49 p.m. yesterday, the temperature was recorded at 33.9 degrees Celsius and a heat index of 44.1 degrees Celsius, Pagasa said.
Weather specialist Manny John Agbay said it was possible that the temperature and heat index could still rise since the summer season has not yet ended.
“The heat index also depends on the relative humidity. For this, its humidity reached to 65 percent,” he told Cebu Daily News.
Oscar Tabada, Pagasa Visayas chief, said a heat index of 44 degrees Celcius could cause cramps and heat stroke and advised the public to always bring and drink water as well as protection from the sun, such as caps, hats and umbrellas.
Relief from the heat would still be about two months away.
“There is also a possibility that the onset for rainy season might be on third week of June,” he added.
WATER SITUATION
The water shortage, on the other hand, continues with more elevated and interior areas in Metro Cebu now affected with low pressure to no water supply.
Charmaine Kara, public affairs manager for Metropolitan Cebu Water Disitrict (MCWD), said that even their ground water and bulk water supplies have been affected, leaving at least 45 areas in Metro Cebu now with little or no water supply.
She said the normal 240,000 cubic meters daily water supply of MCWD has dropped by 20,000 cu. m.
“We advised those affected areas to still store water,” she stressed.