Power supply seen as adequate despite El Niño

THE Department of Energy (DoE) said on Thursday that the power supply remains adequate even with El Niño putting pressure on hydropower generation.

“There is right now adequate supply but we will continuously monitor… the dams, (which have) good and adequate water supply,” Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla told reporters in chance remarks on Thursday.

“But we’ve had to monitor also… because the agriculture sector has an increased need for irrigation… irrigation is also depleting the volumes for power use,” he said.

Mr. Lotilla said the Philippines is well-placed to deal with El Niño because of the relatively high reliance on natural gas-fired power plants visa-vis hydropower.

“Let’s continue to work on energy efficiency and conservation. Because that would really help us in addressing the cost. We don’t have to run the dieselfired and the oil-based power plants, which usually increase rates,” he said.

Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevara told reporters separately that the DoE is not projecting any yellow or red alerts at the moment.

“Based on the power outlook presented to us, so far wala naman tayong nakikitang yellow alerts or red alerts (we are not expecting red or yellow alerts),” she said.

In 2023, the Philippines raised two red alerts and eight yellow alerts, according to the DoE, well below the initial projection of 12 yellow alerts.

Yellow alerts are declared when the power supply falls below a designated safety margin, while red alerts are enforced when the supply situation deteriorates further, leading to power rationing in the form of rotating brownouts.

As of Friday, the Luzon grid has available generating capacity of 13,076 megawatts (MW), higher than the system peak demand of 11,029 MW, according to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

“For Visayas, ’yun ang medyo manipis (supply is thin) … kasi ang margin natin typical day is anywhere from 8% only (On a typical day, the margin of supply over demand is only 8%),” Ms. Guevara said.

“Sa Mindanao, talagang walang problema kasi 25-30% ang kanilang margin (There is no problem with Mindanao because the margin is 2530%),” she said.

According to the government weather service, known as PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration), the El Niño is “ongoing and is expected to continue through January-February 2024,” likely persisting until May. —