HYDROPOWER and geothermal power plants will soon be built in the Visayas to provide additional power supply in the island.
Department of Energy (DOE) Visayas Director Russ Mark Gamallo said a feasibility study on hydropower plant is being conducted in Western Visayas, while the proposed geothermal power plant in Carigara, Leyte has already been approved.
These additional power plants using renewable energy will supplement the existing geothermal plants in Ormoc and Kananga in Leyte that are producing 500 megawatts each; the solar power plants in Negros Occidental and Cebu; and the hydropower plants in Badian and Barili in Cebu, as well as in Loboc and Janopol in Bohol, aside from the region’s coal-fired power plants.
Gamallo said other sources of power in the Visayas are the wind farms in Aklan and San Lorenzo, Guimaras Island that are supplying power in their respective provinces.
The DOE director explained these renewable energy sources are connected to the Visayas grid through a submarine cable, and have been the sources of majority of the energy being used in Cebu.
Gamallo assured that Visayas has enough power supply for residents at 2,518-megawatt capacity. The region is currently using only 2,220 megawatts of power.
“We still have stable supply here in Visayas. We don’t see any problem in terms of supply,” Gamallo said in Cebuano.
He said the construction of new power plants using renewable energy is the government’s response to the possible dwindling of supply in the coming years.
Last May 18, 2022, officials of the DOE and Presidential Communications Operations Office visited Cebu to launch #EnerhiyangAtin Campaign, which aims to uplift consumer awareness on energy efficiency and conservation. (LMY)