Rotating brownouts continue

LONGER and more frequent rotating brownouts were experienced yesterday, the fourth day of the preventive maintenance of the 120-megawatt Leyte Geothermal Plant.

Maintenance work on the plant is expected to last until Feb. 10.

The 50-megawatt Cebu Thermal Power Plant I (CTPP I) is also undergoing preventive maintenance, which is scheduled until Feb. 15.

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The continued failure by the National Power Corp. (NPC) to deliver fuel to SPC Power Corp. for its 44-megawatt gas turbines in the City of Naga, Cebu has aggravated the situation.

Dennis Gana of NPC could not be reached for comment.

The Department of Energy (DOE), which has authority over power plants, also did not release a statement on the issue of preventive maintenance work. DOE 7 Director Antonio Labios did not answer calls to his mobile phone.

Veco Corporate Communications Manager Ethel Natera said there was a 150-megawatt shortage in the morning peak hours, 170-megawatt shortage in the afternoon and a 220-megawatt shortage in the evening peak hours because of limited power generation in the Visayas.

Shortage share

Veco’s share of the shortage was 70.4 mw in the morning peak, 75 mw in the afternoon peak and 100 mw in the evening. She said the shortfall was to blame for the rotating one-and-a-half hour brownouts last night.

Meanwhile, a Department of Foreign Affairs official said that as long as the right technology is used, a nuclear power plant can be a safe option to address Cebu’s power shortage problem. But he said it could also be an expensive one.

While the Philippine Government leads this year the review of the United Nations’ (UN) treaty on nuclear disarmament, Ambassador Libran Cabactulan said they are also for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, such as power generation.

Cabactulan said the other day that contrary to what many believe, operating a nuclear power plant is safe if the right technology is used and safety measures are taken.

He said that he does not see anything wrong with Gov. Gwen Garcia’s plan to consider proposals on the possibility of setting up a nuclear power plant in Cebu.

Cabactulan said government should also put in place controls needed to make sure that nuclear technology is used only to generate peaceful uses of nuclear energy at a given limit.

Outdated

He also cited the Bataan Power Plant, whose technology is now outdated.

“Imagine that Bataan was designed 40 years ago. But now there are new technologies and new ways of doing things, there are new designs, and it is really fairly safe. The question is, is it really the best alternative? I really do not know because I was told it’s very expensive to set up the facility,” Cabactulan said in an interview.

The ambassador pointed out that it’s not enough to have a nuclear reactor, but a reprocessing plant is also needed, which would cost a lot.

Cabactulan is the president-elect of the 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of the UN, which will be held in New York in May.

Global

He is DFA’s Senior Special Assistant for Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.

He was in Cebu last Wednesday to brief community journalists on the status of the implementation of the treaty, which seeks to achieve advances in nuclear disarmament, strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime, and promote progress in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

During the Philippine Press Institute seminar, Cabactulan said disarming countries that are known to have nuclear weapons will benefit the National Government in the long run.

It will also ensure that overseas Filipino workers all over the world will be safe, particularly those in Arab countries that are believed to be developing nuclear weapons.

“We’re contributing to global efforts to ensure national peace and security. It is directly related to the protection of our national safety and interests, specifically the OFWs. Whatever happens in Iran, the government will have to help our OFWs there and it will cost us a lot to bring all of them home,” the ambassador added.