THE Department of Energy-Visayas Field Office (DOE-VFO) has assured that there is enough supply of electricity in the Visayas to meet the requirements of the region.
Engr. Keelvin Dajao, Science Research Specialist 2 of the DOE-VFO, said Wednesday, January 24, that the region’s power outlook in 2018 is stable, with supply and capacity more than enough to meet the demand.
Dajao was among the speakers invited to the “Kapihan sa PIA Forum” held at a local hotel in Dumaguete City to talk about the power situation outlook for this year.
In an interview, he said the average demand for electricity in the Visayas was 1,700 megawatts (MW) to 1,800 MW although this varies every so often.
The region had a power supply of 2,300 MW, while its generating capacity was pegged at 2,100 MW with a little excess at times, Dajao said.
Luzon exports 300 MW to the Visayas especially during peak hours to ensure a steady power transmission, the DOE-VFO executive said.
“We can serve the demand because of ongoing projects in the Visayas, and if the region is lacking in power, there is back up from the Luzon grid where we are connected,” Dajao said.
He also said that the power plants in Leyte that were destroyed during the 6.5-magnitude earthquake that hit the island and other parts of the region on July 6, 2017 were almost fully restored.
They expected that these power plants would be fully operational by the end of this year, he added.
Asked whether the lack of infrastructure from the grid had impacted on the power situation in the Visayas, Dajao admitted this was actually one of their “biggest challenges.”
The transmission grid is the “highway” of power and if it was lacking in infrastructure facilities, it was useless despite having an excess power supply that could not be delivered to the end users, he said.
For now, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines is undertaking a project dubbed CNP (Cebu-Negros-Panay) Interconnection, which was expected to be completed and operational by 2022 or thereafter, Dajao said.
This was the Visayas backbone project that would see a strong and reliable transmission grid from Iloilo to northern Negros and onward to a portion of Western Cebu, he added.
Dajao, however, assured that the lack of transmission grid services has minimal impact on the power supply in the Visayas. (PNA)