RP will have enough electricity despite El Niño, says Napocor

National Power Corp. president Rogelio Murga gave assurance yesterday that the country will have enough electricity even if El Niño strikes and affects the operations of the hydro-electric power plants of Napocor.

"The country’s resources for fuel used in power generation are diverse. Even if we shut down the hydro-electric plants due to low water levels, we still have other generation facilities that will provide us with continuous and reliable electric power service," Murga said.

Murga said two huge hydro-electric power facilities will be operated by Napocor for 10 years and will not be included in the sale of the power firm’s generation assets.

Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 specifically mentioned Agus and Pulangi Hydro Plants, which have a combined capacity of more than 720 MW. Both are located in Mindanao.

"The two hydro power facilities, Agus and Pulangi, were specified by EPIRA, to be privatized within 10 years after the law is passed. As to the other hydro power plants, these will undergo privatization process the same way as to the other plants," Murga said.

"It is usually the case during summer months when water levels are not sufficient to run our hydro-electric plants that they are shut down and undergo maintenance and rehabilitation," said Napocor vice president for hydro Melburgo Chiu.

Last year, the country’s weather forecasting bureau, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), announced the possible occurrence of an El Niño phenomenon. In a report, PAGASA said this may initially be felt in Mindanao by the fourth quarter of 2002, and would last until the first half of 2003, affecting other parts of the country and impact on the different sectors of the community. The last time the country experienced El Niño was in 1997-1998.

In 2002, Napocor generated 38,166 gigawatthours of electricity using various fuel resources, 18 percent of which came from hydro. Coal accounted for more than 37 percent of the total, followed by geothermal at 26 percent, natural gas at eight percent, while the rest is a mixture of diesel, oil thermal, gas turbine and combined cycle.

At present, hydro power accounts for more than 2,200 MW or about 20 percent of the country’s total generation capacity.

By late this year or early 2004, this is expected to increase with the commissioning within six months or early 2004 of the 345-MW San Roque Power Generation Facility, fueled by water coming from the San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam (SRMPD).