Agus-Pulangi output may be set aside for Mindanao’s poorest

THE Department of Energy (Doe) has asked the government agency that owns the Agus and Pulangi hydroelectric complex to allocate the output of Mindanao’s main power source to areas that need it the most.

“I have written a letter to PSALM [ Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Corp.] to study allocating the output of Agus and Pulangi to the poorest of the poor in Mindanao,” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi told reporters on the sidelines of a coal business and policy forum at the New World Hotel in Makati City on Wednesday.

“That means to say the ARMM [Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao] region, the Lanao area and Maguindanao so that we can help in the development of the area,” he added, when asked about the areas that would benefit from his proposal.

The Agus hydropower complex is a series of seven facilities using the water from Lake Lanao that flows along the Agus River and discharges into Iligan Bay. It has an installed capacity of at least 700 megawatts (MW). The Pulangi hydropower plant in Maramag, Bukidnon has three units each with an installed capacity of 85 MW.

Mr. Cusi said that he was also looking at encouraging investments in Mindanao by using the output of Agus and Pulangi for the manufacturing sector through the industrial zones. He said the move would also encourage industrial development and help create jobs.

He described the output of the hydro complex as the cheapest source of power in Mindanao. “I think it’s P2.70 per kilowatt-hour at that price that is comparative to our region,” he said.

He said at present, the output is allocated to Mindanao’s various electric cooperatives, numbering around 34, which in turn blend this with other power sources before retailing the electricity to consumers at a higher price.

Mr. Cusi also said the move would be timely as the power supply contracts between PSALM and the cooperatives have expired.

“All these ECs [electric cooperatives] wanted to get a longer contract,” he said. “At most we can give one year to allow for a transition period].”

He said the transition period would give the ECs time to adjust to the new contract and for PSALM and the grid operator to plan for the dispatch of electricity.

During the forum, a Doe official said the department was considering including nuclear energy as part of the country’s supply of baseload power, a move that might mean a rewrite of the country’s Philippine Energy Plan ( PEP) for 2016 to 2030.

“In the policy direction of the Doe right now, we are now exploring the possibility of the nuclear power plant as baseload source of power,” Gerardo D. Erguiza, Jr., Doe assistant secretary, told participants of the forum. “The traditional source of baseload is coal,” he said. “All in all, in as much as we would like to consider other forms of energy, the focal point of all of these would be the baseload.”

Earlier this month, the DOE presented the energy plan for the next 15 years, which included a “road map” for traditional energy sources such as coal, oil and gas, and emerging renewable energy, but not for nuclear energy.

The PEP which was presented for comments to the industry is itself a departure from the previous administration’s “fuel mix” that called for a 30% share for coal, 30% for natural gas, 30% for renewable energy and 10% for oil-based sources.

In the new plan, the emphasis has become a “power mix” made up of 70% baseload, 20% mid-merit and 10% peaking. Industry sources placed the expected demand by 2030 at around 30,000 MW. The country currently has an installed capacity of around 18,784 MW.