Luzon grid to be hit by blackouts next year

BLACKOUTS are likely to hit Luzon next year as the island suffers a power shortage of 300 megawatts two or three years earlier than expected, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said Monday.

The shortage could reach 500 megawatts if rain failed to fill up the dams in Benguet, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Isabela, Almendras told a budget hearing at the Senate

“The outlook for Mindanao is even more bleak,” Almendras said, noting the island’s heavy dependence on the power produced by water-dependent hydroelectric plants.

But the Visayas would be in much better shape than Luzon and would have excess capacity until 2012, Almendras said.

All told, the country would need 2,000 megawatts of extra power that will require $4 billion in investments on top of projects already in the pipeline.

In Luzon, a new plant scheduled to go on stream in 2013 would cut the shortage until it picked up again in 2014, and to

450 megawatts, Almendras said.

To reduce the shortage, the department would encourage power producers to rehabilitate their facilities, a move that could generate an additional 600 megawatts, Almendras said.

He said the plants recently sold by the government were not yet operating at their installed capacity.

The aim in Mindanao was to reduce dependence on hydroelectric power, which is vulnerable to changes in the weather, Almendras said. A 500-megawatt plant that did not depend on the supply of water would greatly help the island.

Eileen Mencias, Manila Standard Today