CLARK FREEPORT – The Department of Energy (DOE) has assured voters that there will be “no planned (power) outage” nationwide not only on election day on May 10, but from May 3 to 31.
This assurance was made the other day by DOE official Norman Vincent Martirez before leaders of private organizations and government agencies from various parts on Central Luzon during the department’s presentation of the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) up to the year 2030.
“There are no planned outages on generators from May 3 to 31, 2010,” he said during his briefing during the whole-day seminar-forum on the PEP held by the DOE here.
He said that “retirement of power plants would be deferred” while the government will “provide temporary replacements for problematic transmission facilities.”
This, regardless of Visayas and Mindanao already being in “critical” phase in their power supply. Visayas hit critical stage last year, while Mindanao is expected to reach critical period this year.
Critical level of power supply in Luzon is expected in 2011, said DOE information materials distributed during the whole-day presentation of PEP. The DOE refers to such critical period to refer to “the year when existing generating capacity will not be able to meet the peak demand and the required reserve margin.” In Luzon and Visayas, the margin is 23.4 percent above the peak demand, while in the Visayas, it is 21 percent.
“Luzon alone needs an additional generating capacity of 11,900 megawatts up to 2030,” Martirez said, noting, however, that a 300 megawatt additional “peaking plant” is expected to be operational by next year.
He said the government will “pursue power sector reform program by facilitating the entry of private-sector initiated power generation projects, as he noted that GN Power Corp. “will comply with the 2013 commissioning of the 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Mariveles, Bataan.”
At the same time, Michael Sinocruz, another DOE official who tackled the country’s energy outlook during the seminar-forum, said the government is still looking at the reactivation of the Bataan Nuclearn Power Plant (BNPP) in Morong, Bataan as a possible alternative source of fuel.
Sinocruz said the DOE is still “validating the BNPP feasibility study result which was recently submitted by the Korean Electric Power Company (Kepco)”.
He said a “site safety review” on the BNPP is being “developed to assess previous site studies” and that a “comprehensive study is also being conducted in the economic viability and competitiveness of nuclear power as a long-term energy option for the Philippines.”
Sinocruz also said the DOE will continue to advocate the passage of an energy efficiency and conservation bill.
This, he said, is in line with the department’s vision to develop energy labeling for new models of passenger cars and light-duty vehicles, efficiency guidelines for residential buildings, energy benchmark for commercial and government buildings and industrial facilities, energy management standard for industrial establishments, and development and promotion of green building technology.
This, even as the report distributed by the DOE here said that only 202 barangays in the country remain without electricity. It said that 99.65 percent of barangays in Luzon are energized, 99.67 percent in the Visayas, and 99.07 percent in Mindanao.
The report said that in Central Luzon, 99.94 percent or 3,100 barangays are already reached by electricity, with only two barangays in Zambales still without power.
This assurance was made the other day by DOE official Norman Vincent Martirez before leaders of private organizations and government agencies from various parts on Central Luzon during the department’s presentation of the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) up to the year 2030.
“There are no planned outages on generators from May 3 to 31, 2010,” he said during his briefing during the whole-day seminar-forum on the PEP held by the DOE here.
He said that “retirement of power plants would be deferred” while the government will “provide temporary replacements for problematic transmission facilities.”
This, regardless of Visayas and Mindanao already being in “critical” phase in their power supply. Visayas hit critical stage last year, while Mindanao is expected to reach critical period this year.
Critical level of power supply in Luzon is expected in 2011, said DOE information materials distributed during the whole-day presentation of PEP. The DOE refers to such critical period to refer to “the year when existing generating capacity will not be able to meet the peak demand and the required reserve margin.” In Luzon and Visayas, the margin is 23.4 percent above the peak demand, while in the Visayas, it is 21 percent.
“Luzon alone needs an additional generating capacity of 11,900 megawatts up to 2030,” Martirez said, noting, however, that a 300 megawatt additional “peaking plant” is expected to be operational by next year.
He said the government will “pursue power sector reform program by facilitating the entry of private-sector initiated power generation projects, as he noted that GN Power Corp. “will comply with the 2013 commissioning of the 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Mariveles, Bataan.”
At the same time, Michael Sinocruz, another DOE official who tackled the country’s energy outlook during the seminar-forum, said the government is still looking at the reactivation of the Bataan Nuclearn Power Plant (BNPP) in Morong, Bataan as a possible alternative source of fuel.
Sinocruz said the DOE is still “validating the BNPP feasibility study result which was recently submitted by the Korean Electric Power Company (Kepco)”.
He said a “site safety review” on the BNPP is being “developed to assess previous site studies” and that a “comprehensive study is also being conducted in the economic viability and competitiveness of nuclear power as a long-term energy option for the Philippines.”
Sinocruz also said the DOE will continue to advocate the passage of an energy efficiency and conservation bill.
This, he said, is in line with the department’s vision to develop energy labeling for new models of passenger cars and light-duty vehicles, efficiency guidelines for residential buildings, energy benchmark for commercial and government buildings and industrial facilities, energy management standard for industrial establishments, and development and promotion of green building technology.
This, even as the report distributed by the DOE here said that only 202 barangays in the country remain without electricity. It said that 99.65 percent of barangays in Luzon are energized, 99.67 percent in the Visayas, and 99.07 percent in Mindanao.
The report said that in Central Luzon, 99.94 percent or 3,100 barangays are already reached by electricity, with only two barangays in Zambales still without power.
