By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent
FOR the second day, a bigger power allocation from the Mindanao grid augmented by electricity generated by independent power producer Minergy spared the city from four-hour blackouts that crippled the city this week. There was no scheduled blackout in the city yesterday––and since Thursday morning, said Marilyn Chavez, spokesperson of the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co. (Cepalco).
Chavez provided no explanation for the positive development yesterday but on Thursday, she told the Gold Star Daily that Cepalco was informed that production at the Pulangi hydroelectric plant in Bukidnon has improved. With an increased power allocation from the Mindanao grid beefed up by the supply from Minergy, there was no power shortage in the city. Minergy is producing 42 mw for Cepalco.
But there are no assurances that the situation would be the same today or next week as Cepalco is dependent on the power allocation from the Mindanao grid.
Elizabeth Ladaga, a spokesperson of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), said the power allocations are decided by the National Power Corp. (Napocor) and the NGCP merely transmits the supply to the local power distributors.
“The advisory did not mention any deficiency,” said Ladaga. Neither Chavez nor Ladaga could say exactly how much power Cepalco received from the Mindanao grid since Thursday.
Mindanao’s power system capacity yesterday was 1,140 mw against 1,340-mw system peak with a reserve of -200 mw, showed the NGCP website.
Meanwhile, Councilor Teodulfo Lao Jr. expressed dismay that the city council’s energy committee was kept in the dark about the power situation in the city since July 18.
Lao, the committee chairman, said he was only getting his information about the local power situation from Gold Star Daily.
“Not one of them informed me or the committee about what was happening or why there were four-hour rotating blackouts in the city this week,” he said.
Lao said neither was the committee informed about the scheduled preventive maintenance shutdown of one of the generating units of the power plant of Steag State Power Inc. in Villanueva Misamis Oriental.
He said Cepalco, NGCP, and Napocor owe the local government an explanation.
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