Innovative solutions to ease power crisis

MANILA, Philippines - Energy solutions provider GE Philippines has expressed readiness to provide the latest technologies and innovations in energy generation and distributed power, in support of the various initiatives that have been outlined by independent power producers and electricity distributors to help address the projected power insufficiency in the coming summer months.

“We listen to our customers in the power and energy sector, and understand their needs in order to propose the best available solutions for their operations,” said GE Philippines chief executive officer Jocot de Dios at a recent roundtable discussion with energy media.

Paramount among these measures is the interruptible load program (ILP) for large commercial electricity consumers, where Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have secured the commitment of more than 300 participants in the scheme, for a total capacity of 700-plus megawatts of power. Meralco is relentless in its campaign geared toward consumers in terms of practical energy-saving measures as a way to contribute to lessening the load on the grid during the peak summer months, according to vice president and head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez.

Philippine Independent Power Producers Association (PIPPA) president Luis Miguel Aboitiz supports DOE and Meralco’s campaign, saying “it would help prevent outages if demand could be lessened or at least kept stable during the critical period.” He also urged households, businesses and factories to curb electricity use during peak hours within the critical period.

With increasing awareness on sustainability, wind turbine and biomass solutions are viable technologies to help increase the contribution of renewable energy in the overall energy portfolio of the country, explained De Dios. “We also have an extensive menu of gas and steam power solutions that are available to our IPPS,” he said.

In the short term, while immediate government spending is not yet in sight, there are still some innovative solutions that De Dios hopes can be considered.

“We actually have power generation solutions that can be deployed rapidly within as little as a few weeks,” he explained. “These are trailer-mounted gas turbines that act as a dual-fuel power plants, which can generate power efficiency and can be deployed easily for mobile or emergency needs.”

These power plants can be fed by either natural gas or diesel, and have been deployed successfully in countries such as Greece, Algeria and Japan in earthquake-devastated Fukushima prefecture.