The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) made an assurance on Saturday that the country has sufficient energy supply to support economic growth amid the strengthening Philippine economy.

With the continuous slowdown in the country’s inflation rate, and as the December 2023 inflation recorded at 3.9 percent, it is being forecast that the Philippine economy could grow further, which means increased electricity demand.

In a news forum in Quezon City, ERC Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said the country has electricity supply buffer that could meet demand in general.

“Ang kailangan po nating paghandaan, ng mga utilities, iyong mga spikes kasi po iyon ang nagku-cause ng mga outage eh, ng tripping – ‘pag may mga spikes na hindi masagot agad ng demand,” she told the forum.

“Kaya po napaka-crucial ng trabaho ng—on the distribution level, iyong distribution utility, on a system-wide level ng system operator kasi po, siya iyong palaging nagbabantay po noon. Kasi po in terms of numbers, iyon nga… kaya siyang sagutin ng supply.”

According to the ERC chief, the Lingayen to Lucena Corridor, which consumes 85 percent of electricity has enough supply to meet the demand. In addition, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is working on a so-called loop in that area that could boost supply.

“So in terms of supply, mayroon naman pong supply; ang importante po eh maitawid iyong supply doon sa tinatawag nating load center. So, kung mga detalye, puwede ko pong tingnan siguro after iyong detalye pero ang pagkakaalala ko po, iyong sa loop, hindi pa po tapos iyon,” Dimalanta said.

Power interruptions are so damaging for areas with intense economic activity. It is estimated that few days of the Panay Island-wide blackout resulted in P1.5 billion economic loss for Iloilo. PND