ILIGAN CITY , Philippines – Hydroelectric power plants in Mindanao have been forced to reduce their capacity to 50 percent since Feb. 3 due to the low water inflow into Lake Lanao and Pulangi River because of the onset of El Niño, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said.
Eugene Bicar, NGCP Mindanao system operations head, said power load shedding throughout Mindanao will be enforced the whole month of February as NGCP projects that power supply will remain below comfortable levels.
This is due to the unavailability of the Agus 5, Mindanao coal-fired power plant Unit 2, the Iligan diesel-powered plant, and the Western Mindanao power plant in Zamboanga City, which has reduced its output from 90 to 80 megawatts, Bicar said.
To address the power shortage in the short term, Bicar said the preventive maintenance of the Agus 5 hydroelectric plant’s Units 1 and 2 must be fast-tracked and the repair of Kibawe 138 KVA lines must be completed as soon as possible.
He said the commissioning of the Maramag-Bunawan 230 KVA backbone project would also help in strengthening the network interconnection of the Mindanao grid.
At the same time, Bicar urged the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. to resume the operation of the Iligan diesel-powered plant and to contract additional power generation from embedded generations like the diesel plant in northern Mindanao.
Two-hour rotational blackouts are now being implemented, as power distributors in Mindanao are assigned load allocations to maintain under the curtailment plan.