Power gap in Mindanao reaches 748 MW

POWER plants in Mindanao are only producing 50 percent of what the island's peak demand is, causing longer power outages and rotating brownouts in key cities, said the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

Based on the latest monitoring of the NGCP, Mindanao is only producing 749 megawatts (MW) of power, while the demand for power is already at 1,497 MW, creating a power supply gap of 748 MW.

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The NGCP continues to blame the El Niño phenomenon, drying up the major bodies of water where hydro power is sourced, as the cause of the shortage of power supply.

Meanwhile, Luzon and Visayas are still on a tight balancing act with power reserves getting slimmer by the day.

Visayas is alaready facing a 30-MW shortage in its power supply, while Luzon has only 223 MW of reserve power.

NGCP also clarified that they are only responsible for the efficient transmission of the power from the producer to the local distributors like Davao Light and Power Company.

NGCP said they do not own nor operate and maintain any power generation and distribution facility. (Carlo P. Mallo)