FINDING SOLUTIONS. Panay energy stakeholders identify short-term solutions to the persistent power problem on the island during a meeting called by the Iloilo City government on Thursday (March 7, 2024). Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said, however, that the long-term solution is the in-island power generator, whether solar, wind, or liquefied natural gas. (PNA photo by PGLena)
ILOILO CITY – Panay energy stakeholders have found short-term solutions to the persistent power problem during Thursday's forum called by the city government.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, in an interview, said there is a negotiation between distribution utility More Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) and the power generator Global Business Power (GBP) for the ancillary supply of 60 megawatts.
This, according to Treñas, would prevent possible cases of blackouts.
“It will further ensure that in case there is something wrong with the transmission lines, we will avoid a five-day blackout because they can immediately restart the plant. It’s now a question of recovery of the cost,” he said.
Director Irma C. Exconde of the Department of Energy Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (EPIMB) said they would review the recommendation on ancillary services, including cost recovery.
Exconde said they would meet with stakeholders next week to discuss the issue as the policy covering ancillary services is already there but they would “try to stretch to the extent possible” to address the concern on cost recovery.
Another recommendation was the zonal allocation, where the island will be considered as a zone and ancillary service will be allocated for the particular area.
Exconde said the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has been tasked to conduct a simulation because they operate the system.
The result will serve as input for the Department of Energy (DOE) to determine if there is a need for policy in terms of allocation.
Meanwhile, the Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone is now 97.44 percent complete and is expected to be finished on or before the end of this month.
On Thursday afternoon, the NGCP said it would energize the Calatrava-Cadiz 230 Kilovolt (kV) line for it to already get power from Cebu through the Magdugo substation to Calatrava going to Cadiz, EB Magalona, and Barotac Viejo in Iloilo.
“That will allow more stable transmission coming from Cebu and Negros, especially because there’s a lot of solar power and renewable coming from Negros that can help us,” Treñas said.
He called for the meeting to find solutions after the power interruption last week, and to prevent a power crisis in the future.
“Assuming that the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid is completed because by then they can carry 800 megawatts and the agreement of MORE and Global will also push through, the five-day blackout is very close to impossible,” he said.
However, Treñas noted that the long-term solution remains to be their focus to completely solve the power problem.
Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., who joined the meeting, said the power problem is a matter of national security.
“We are very concerned because electric power is really one of the fundamentals that government should deliver to its constituents except that under the present governmental setup, the privilege of operating the utilities and delivering the product to our constituents is given to the private sector,” he said, although it is being highly regulated by the government because it is imbued with the highest public interest. (PNA)
