ANGELES CITY – While expressing confidence that the emergency batteries to be distributed with the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines will function in case of power outages on election day, machine supplier Smartmatic-TIM said yesterday it will be “good” for the government to advise local government units to also have motorcycle batteries on standby.
This, after the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said that the Visayas and Mindanao power grids will continue to have reserve deficits even through the May elections due to the limited supply coming from power generating plants.
“It’s really not for us to say, but it will be good for government authorities to take extra precautionary measures by advising municipal and barangay officials to have motorcycle batteries on hand in case the batteries to be supplied with the PCOS machines also fail,” Smartmatic-TIM spokesperson and public relations manager told Punto in a telephone interview.
The other day, Energy Sec. Angelo Reyes said the power crisis is real and not part of a scenario-building ploy of the administration to disrupt the May elections, even as he appealed to critics of the Arroyo not to politicize the issue.
Describing the power problem as “serious”, Reyes said, however, that the administration would make sure there would be uninterrupted power supply in the first automated polls in May.
He said the consensus among Mindanao leaders is the immediate acquisition of power barges as a short-term measure. The country relied on power barges during the power crisis in the 1990s.
However, Gregorio said that he expected the batteries to be supplied with the PCOS machines to function at polling centers.
He said that the batteries have been tested and could provide power for as long as 16 hours, not 12 as being reported in media. This, he noted, provides extra five hours from the estimated time within which all proceedings could be finished at polling precincts.
“The batteries are not internal. They are external but attached to the PCOS machines. In case of power outage, these batteries would automatically turn on so as not to cause any disruption,” he stressed.
Gregorio also said that apart from the batteries for each PCOS machine, Smartmatic-TIM is also providing 1,700 power generators for city and municipal election headquarters nationwide.
NGCP vice president for systems operation Carlito Claudio said earlier a four-megawatt (MW) deficit in Mindanao is possible on election day, but that contingency measures have been put in to avert power outages.
This, amid fears that the receding water levels at the Agus hydropower plant complex will worsen Mindanao’s power supply problem.
The Pulangi hydropower plant in Bukidnon, NGCP officials said, is running at less than half of capacity due to low water levels.
Mindanao as of Feb. 18 has a deficit of 218 MW with available capacity at 962 MW as against peak demand of 1,180 MW.
Davao City, according to reports, is experiencing a power supply gap of between 20 to 30 MW.
Candidates in the May elections have expressed apprehensions about the power situation.
“This is really a cause for concern, these blackouts especially in Mindanao. It is important to address this not only because of the elections but due to effects on trade, tourism and everyday life,” Liberal Party vice presidential candidate Sen. Manuel Roxas II said.
He said the government must look beyond temporary solutions that are too costly, like depending on oil for running power plants.
This, after the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said that the Visayas and Mindanao power grids will continue to have reserve deficits even through the May elections due to the limited supply coming from power generating plants.
“It’s really not for us to say, but it will be good for government authorities to take extra precautionary measures by advising municipal and barangay officials to have motorcycle batteries on hand in case the batteries to be supplied with the PCOS machines also fail,” Smartmatic-TIM spokesperson and public relations manager told Punto in a telephone interview.
The other day, Energy Sec. Angelo Reyes said the power crisis is real and not part of a scenario-building ploy of the administration to disrupt the May elections, even as he appealed to critics of the Arroyo not to politicize the issue.
Describing the power problem as “serious”, Reyes said, however, that the administration would make sure there would be uninterrupted power supply in the first automated polls in May.
He said the consensus among Mindanao leaders is the immediate acquisition of power barges as a short-term measure. The country relied on power barges during the power crisis in the 1990s.
However, Gregorio said that he expected the batteries to be supplied with the PCOS machines to function at polling centers.
He said that the batteries have been tested and could provide power for as long as 16 hours, not 12 as being reported in media. This, he noted, provides extra five hours from the estimated time within which all proceedings could be finished at polling precincts.
“The batteries are not internal. They are external but attached to the PCOS machines. In case of power outage, these batteries would automatically turn on so as not to cause any disruption,” he stressed.
Gregorio also said that apart from the batteries for each PCOS machine, Smartmatic-TIM is also providing 1,700 power generators for city and municipal election headquarters nationwide.
NGCP vice president for systems operation Carlito Claudio said earlier a four-megawatt (MW) deficit in Mindanao is possible on election day, but that contingency measures have been put in to avert power outages.
This, amid fears that the receding water levels at the Agus hydropower plant complex will worsen Mindanao’s power supply problem.
The Pulangi hydropower plant in Bukidnon, NGCP officials said, is running at less than half of capacity due to low water levels.
Mindanao as of Feb. 18 has a deficit of 218 MW with available capacity at 962 MW as against peak demand of 1,180 MW.
Davao City, according to reports, is experiencing a power supply gap of between 20 to 30 MW.
Candidates in the May elections have expressed apprehensions about the power situation.
“This is really a cause for concern, these blackouts especially in Mindanao. It is important to address this not only because of the elections but due to effects on trade, tourism and everyday life,” Liberal Party vice presidential candidate Sen. Manuel Roxas II said.
He said the government must look beyond temporary solutions that are too costly, like depending on oil for running power plants.
