Negros Occidental has a power shortage of 50 to 100 megawatts of power at night, Rey Malleza of the Department of Energy said Wednesday, March 20.
"That's why we need power from other islands and that the new line for the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid is crucial for the present power situation," Malleza said.
Based on the presentation during the Negros Island Power Forum at L’Fisher Hotel, Bacolod City initiated by the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), Negros Island has a total of 709 Megawatts Generating Capacity.
Mindanao has an excess of more than 1,000 megawatts that during the shortage, some distribution utilities are getting power from there, Malleza said.
But Malleza also explained that power outages and interruptions have many causes, from power generation, power lines, and distribution utilities to sudden trouble.
There are power plants that are having unexpected and unscheduled troubles that also cause power interruptions.
Malleza said they support activities like the power forum which is participated by officials from the local government units, business sector, and the power industry stakeholders to determine the actual needs of the power industry based on the growing demands.
Frank Carbon, executive director of MBCCI, said that the power forum is also in preparation for the power summit being eyed by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson.*