Acute power lack blamed for outages in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has blamed the acute power shortage and not any transmission-related problems for the load curtailment presently being carried out in Mindanao.

The power shortage has forced the NGCP to implement the power curtailment to ensure a steady supply of power on the island.

As of Friday, the island had a deficit of 89 megawatts as its capacity of 1,137 MW was way below the demand of 1,226 MW.

According to the NGCP, the load curtailment and power interruptions currently being experienced in Mindanao are attributed to a “generation deficiency” or lack of power supply generated by power plants.

“The NGCP has been transparent on the actual supply situation in the country. We publish the power situation outlook on a daily basis, to inform everyone on the electricity supply status. For the Mindanao grid, there is a deficiency,” NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Perez-Alabanza said.

NGCP Mindanao spokesperson Bambi Capulong said power curtailment reaching as much as 270 MW is being put in place, forcing power distributors in Mindanao to resort to power outages.

Power outages as long as six hours have been reported in the cities of General Santos, Butuan, Cotabato, Iligan and Zamboanga and nearby provinces.