By NITZ ARANCON, Correspondent STEAG State Power Inc.’s power plant went full blast again on Monday afternoon, cushioning the effects of the lingering power crisis that was aggravated by the bombings in Marawi that isolated some 150 megawatts from the Mindanao grid. But officials said the power crisis in Mindanao is not yet over, and the situation has worsened because of the effects of the El Niño phenomenon on the island’s hydroelectric power generation capacity. Jerome Soldevilla, Steag spokesman, said the firm completed its three-day preventive maintainance work that required a shutdown of one of its two 105-mw generation units. He said the Steag power plant resumed normal operations in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental at 1:36 pm Monday. The firm shut down Power Generator Unit 2 of the Steag plant in Oct. 31, bringing down Mindanao’s power generation capacity by 105 mw. Soldevilla said the Steag plant is now operating at full 210-mw capacity. Mindanao’s power reserves, although still low, improved yesterday. As of 1 pm, Mindanao registered an 18-mw reserve vis-à-vis a system capacity of 1,419 mw and a system peak of 1,401 mw, according to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP). Meanwhile, the NGCP said it has continued work to erect the two towers that were bombed and toppled down by an unidentified group in Patani, Marawi City in Oct. 29. NGCP spokesperson Elizabeth Ladaga said construction work was being carried out in the Marawi village since Saturday in order to bring back some 150 mw generated by two Agus hydroelectric power plants to the Mindanao grid. She said NGCP workers were being guarded by the firm’s security group in close coordination with the police and the military. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings, and authorities have yet to identify suspects.

Crisis Not Over

The power crisis however is not yet over, and has been aggravated by the El Niño phenomenon. The El Niño has affected the operations of the Agus and Pulangi Hydropower Complexes (APHC) which supply nearly half of the island’s power, said Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) director and public affairs head Romeo Montenegro. He said the Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee (MPMC) tackled the El Niño problem in a meeting last month in order to draw up measures to cushion its impact to the power sector. The Minda-led Mindanao power monitoring body has sounded alarm bells over the report of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) that El Niño conditions would persist up to the first quarter of 2016. The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management-National Power Corp. said the water levels of Lanao Lake reached the critical level of 699.86 meters above sea level as of Oct. 30. The minimum operating level is 699.15 meters above sea level. Pulangi IV plant produced only 60 mw from 144 mw in Oct. 26 while the Agus hydropower plants were only producing 214 mw. The NGCP reported that as of Oct. 30, the Mindanao power deficiency reached 166 mw. “Despite the current situation, we are still confident that by 2016, Mindanao will have a better power situation with the entry of base-load power plants, reducing our dependency to Agus and Pulangi hydro,” Montenegro said.