PRIVATE-public partnership (PPP) will be the key to the stability of Mindanao's power supply, including its distribution from the source to areas where demand is most high.
But to resolve the on-going power crisis on the island, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) is proposing for a more efficient transport of power from its sources in Northern Mindanao to Southern Mindanao.
"With the completion of the Maramag-Bunawan transmission lines, we expect a more efficient distribution of power. We have to harness the power in the north (Northern Mindanao)," said Ma. Lourdes Lim, Neda-Davao Region director.
Lim also stressed the need for the creation of more power plants, hydro-power plants to be exact.
"These mini hydros will be the ones to fill in the power supply gap that we have right now," Lim said, adding that mini hydros do not have as much negative impact on the environment compared to other power plants.
Key cities in Mindanao have started experiencing power shortages, especially as the summer months approach, doubled with the prevailing mild El Niño phenomenon which is expected to cause severe hot weather.
In Davao City, the power plant of the Davao Light and Power Company, which usually runs only during a curtailment of power from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, has been noticeably running 24 hours daily the past couple of weeks.
The neighboring cities of Davao City, like General Santos City, wherein tuna processing takes place, has also been affected by the power shortage with the General Santos Area Control Center (GSACC) or the Southwestern Mindanao District experiencing a decrease in power supply by as much as 32 megawatts daily.
In a statement issued to Cotelco, the NGCP said the load curtailment is due to generation insufficiency that is brought about by non-availability of generating units, power plant shutdown, and plants undergoing preventive maintenance.
These have reduced the capacity of the supply network going to General Santos City and other parts of southwest Mindanao.
In Zamboanga City, the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative has urged its consumers to brace themselves for an even more critical power crisis in the next three or four years if no additional power plants can supply power into the Mindanao Grid.
Zamcelco general manager Reinerio Ramos said the National Power Corporation (Napocor) and National Grid Power Corporation (NGCP) have already hinted several months ago to power consumers and distribution utilities of an impending power crisis in Mindanao unless new power generating plants are constructed.
At present, the Mindanao power grid is already on a "red alert status."
The water elevation of the two major sources of hydroelectric power in Mindanao -- Lake Lanao in Lanao del Sur and Pulangi River in Bukidnon -- is already on a "critical level" due to drought caused by the El Nino phenomenon.
Reports show that the shutdown of the Unit 2 of the Agus hydroelectric power plant in Iligan City and the second unit of the Mindanao coal-fired power plant, which produces 110 megawatts, contributed to the power deficiency.
Add to that is the outage of the Unit 5 of the Agus hydroelectric power plant, also in Lanao del Sur, which has been reduced by 28 megawatts. The capacity of the Unit 1 of the Agus was also reduced from 80 megawatts to 30 megawatts.
As a result, the NGCP's Southwest Mindanao district is given 30 megawatts less its usual power supply.
This has also affected other power cooperatives in Central Mindanao, including the South Cotabato Elective Cooperative 1 and 2, Maguindanao Electric Cooperative (Magelco), Cotelco-Palma, Cotelco-Main, and Sultan Kudarat Electric Cooperative (Sukelco). (CPM/Sunnex)