Panay Island has stable supply of electricity even after a generating plant went offline last January 17 and eventually resumed normal operations after a few hours, the Department of Energy (DOE) said on Saturday.
“Ang situation po ngayon, kagaya ng nabanggit ko kanina, stable po grid system natin. May ample supply tayo walang kakulangan at every 30 minutes po mino-monitor namin iyong sitwasyon. At mayroon pang mga oras na nag-eexport pa ang Panay papunta ng Negros,” Energy Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan said during a news forum in Quezon City.
“Ang sitwasyon po is dahil may isang plantang naka-out at iyong planta rin po na iyon ay naka-out at that time na mangyari iyong January 2. So ngayon, para maiiwasan po natin na huwag magkaroon pa ng sitwasyon January 2, kung mayroon pang isa o dalawang planta na magkakaroon pa ng problema, saka po sila mag-iisyu noong talagang advisory na magkakaroon ng manual o tripping.”
Asked if there is rotational brownout in Panay, the DOE official said there is no rotational brownout except during the time the plant involved temporarily ceased operation.
Marasigan said that prior to the January 17 incident, Panay has stable energy generation operation except in January 2 where the region had high power demand resulting in prolonged blackout.
One of Panay’s big power generating plant encountered boiler tube leak last January 17 — the Unit 3 of the Panay Energy Development Corp. with 150 megawatts capacity.
The system operator, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), exerted efforts to stabilize the situation by designating areas to make the necessary preparations in case there is the need for rotational brownout resulting from manual load dropping, the energy official said.
“So, continuous po ang pag-o-operate ng ibang planta at hanggang ngayon ho ngayong umaga stable naman po iyong services ng kuryente datapuwa’t palagi pong may advisory ang ating system operator na kung sakali pong may eventualities sa Panay Island or even sa Negros then posible pong magsagawa ulit sila ng manual load dropping,” Marasigan said.
Panay Island has more than 400 megawatts of power supply while the demand is around 420 megawatts, according to Marasigan.
In terms of renewable energy contribution to the island, 20 megawatts come from wind energy, in addition to Guimaras wind power which generates about 50 megawatts. Some 8 megawatts of energy are sourced from hydro power generating facility, he added. *PND*
