Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla on Tuesday assured enough power supply until the end of the year but Luzon is facing thin reserves for the entire month of October.
“The most expensive power is no power. I think you fully agree, Mr. Chairman, that we have to protect the availability of supply,” Lotilla said during yesterday’s Senate hearing on energy chaired by Senator Raffy Tulfo.
Lotilla said more than 54 percent of fuel in the power generation mix is imported, which is also reflected in coal supply, wherein 87.2 percent is import dependent.
“In other words, we are very exposed to the volatilities in the international market,” he said.
He said that other issues beset the power sector, unlike the oil sector, where consumers are already aware that the high prices in the world market will have to be reflected in domestic pump prices.
“Right now, we have both supply and pricing issues. But as you have also pointed out, there are issues involving generation, transmission, and distribution as well,” Lotilla said.
Lotilla also cited in his presentation to the Senate that for the Luzon Grid, “we are in danger of not meeting the required contingency reserves in the month of October.”
Based on his presentation, the Luzon grid was also supposed to have three weeks of yellow alerts in August, which did not materialize.
“In August, we have already passed that; fortunately, there were no interruptions,” Lotilla said.
Lotilla said the Visayas is not in danger of any supply shortage, but there is a stranded supply.
“In other words, there is adequate power being produced, especially in the Island of Negros, but they cannot be used because there are not enough transmission lines to bring them to market in Cebu and other parts of the Visayas,” he said.
“Fortunately, for the Visayas, there is excess capacity from Luzon, which is brought by submarine cable to the main Visayas grid,” the energy chief said.
He said Mindanao has over capacity in terms of supply, but it cannot bring this to the Visayas “because the submarine cable transmission lines have not yet been completed.”
Lotilla said DOE had asked National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to complete the Bataan-Hermosa line in Luzon.
“Because there is again around 400-megawatt which is stranded for as long as this is not completed,” he said.
“In the case of the Cebu, Negros, Panay (CNP) transmission line, this also shows the additional capacity that will free up from Negros and Panay to the rest of Cebu,” Lotilla said.
He said the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project was supposed to be completed in 2020, but completion was moved due to the pandemic.
“The revised completion target is October 2022, but as of June 2022, 65 percent has only been completed,” Lotilla said.