Pacquiao fight hikes power use by 100 MW

AN ALREADY struggling power sector in the country had to contend with an expected increase of 100 megawatts (MW) with the match between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey, Sunday.

Data from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) systems operations group showed a 100 MW spike in power demand every time Pacquiao, the Filipino boxing icons, goes up the ring.

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A television set can consume power from 130-380 megawatts depending on the model. Add to that the malls, movie houses and other commercial establishments that are also expected to open for business at a much earlier time to accommodate customers who want to watch the fight live via satellite on big screens.

Power demand on a regular Sunday is between 800 MW to 900 MW, thus it was expected that Sunday's demand was between 900 MW to 1,000 MW.

Despite the 100 MW increase, a "Pacquiao Sunday" demand is just equivalent to a regular day's off peak demand.

NGCP revealed that peak demand in Mindanao on a regular day can reach 1,400 MW, while the off peak demand is just between 800 MW and 900 MW.

Based on the latest monitoring of NGCP, Mindanao has 602 MW of deficiency in production, lower by almost 150 MW compared to last week's 748-megawatt deficiency.

Available capacity in Mindanao has also increased to 805 MW last Saturday while peak demand remained to be at 1,407 MW.

The main problem with the power supply in Mindanao is the drying up of water reservoirs of National Power Corporation’s hydropower plants due to the El Niño phenomenon. (CPM)