The Department of Energy-Visayas Field Office (DOE-VFO) has assured that there is enough supply of electricity in the Visayas to meet the requirements of the region.
Engr. Keelvin Dajao, Science Research Specialist 2 of the DOE-VFO, disclosed in an interview Wednesday afternoon that the region’s power outlook in 2018 is stable, with supply and capacity more than enough to meet the demand.
Dajao was among the speakers invited to the Kapihan sa PIA Forum to talk about the power situation outlook at a local hotel in Dumaguete City.
In an interview, Dajao disclosed that the average demand for electricity in the Visayas is within the range of 1,700MW to 1,800MW although this varies every so often.
The region has a power supply of 2,300 MW while its generating capacity is pegged at 2,100MW with a little excess at times, Dajao said.
Luzon exports 300MW to the Visayas especially during peak hours to ensure a steady power transmission, the DOE-VFO executive said.
“We can serve the demand because of ongoing projects in the Visayas, and if the region is lacking in power, there is back up from the Luzon grid where we are connected,” according to Dajao.
Also, the power plants in Leyte that were destroyed during the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that hit the island and other parts of the region on July 6, 2017 are already almost completely fully restored in their operations, the DOE-VFO official said.
They expect that these power plants will be fully operational by the end of this year, he added.
Asked whether the lack of infrastructure from the grid has impacted on the power situation in the Visayas, Engr. Dajao admitted that this is actually one of their “biggest challenges.”
The transmission grid is the “highway” of power and if it is lacking in its infrastructure facilities, it is useless despite having excess power supply that cannot be delivered to the end users, he pointed out.
For now, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is undertaking a project dubbed CNP (Cebu-Negros-Panay) Interconnection project that is expected to be completed and operation by 2022 or thereafter, Dajao said.
This is the Visayas backbone project that will see a strong and reliable transmission grid from Iloilo to northern Negros and onward to a portion of Western Cebu, he added.
Dajao, however, assured that the lack of transmission grid services has minimal impact on the power supply in the Visayas. (Judy Flores Partlow/PNA)
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