Thursday, April 19, 2007 Put up of more hydro plants urged By Jane Cadalig
THE development of hydro power plants in areas rich in water resources should be encouraged to ensure enough power supply in the next three years, an official of the Department of Energy said.
Engineer Federico Domingo Jr. of the DOE Consumer Welfare and Protection Office said that areas like Benguet with abundant water resources should be more lenient in allowing their resources to be developed to meet the region's demand.
He reported an increasing trend in the power requirement of Luzon even as the dependable capacity of power production is also decreasing.
The critical period in Luzon, the DOE said, would start in year 2010.
Domingo said by 2010, the predicted requirement for power in Luzon would increase to 9,721 megawatts from this year's requirement of 8,302 megawatts.
The dependable capacity of power producing firms was estimated to be at 10,535 megawatts in 2010, a bit lower than 2006 capacity, which is 10,576.
The DOE officer said Luzon would need an additional 1,950 to 1,989 megawatts to ensure sufficient power supply from years 2010 to 2014.
If areas with abundant hydro resources would allow the development of these assets, Domingo said this would help in meeting not only the local needs but also the country's power demand.
