Davao City, Zamboanga del Sur to endure extended rotational brownouts

DAVAO CITY – The Davao Light & Power Co. (DLPC) has announced on Sunday the increase of the duration of its rotating power interruptions from a maximum of 30 minutes to one hour due to the increased Mindanaowide curtailment imposed by the National Grid Corporation of the Phils. (NGCP).

“Last July 18, the NPC-PSALM through the NGCP announced a 110megawatt (MW) deficit in the island. Based on the advice, one of the reasons of the lack of power supply is due to the Preventive Maintenance and Servicing (PMS) of one unit of STEAG coal-fired power plant, which is scheduled from July 18 to August 16,” the DLPC said in a statement sent to the media here.

The Pulangi Hydropower plant remains to have lower power capability due to low water inflow while the Mt. Apo Geothermal Power Plant is currently undergoing a PMS until July 27.

Rossano Luga, corporate communications officer of DLPC pointed out that the company is constrained to increase the duration of the rotating power interruption despite implementing its contingency measures such as running its standby Bajada Power Plant, optimizing on its embedded Sibulan and Talomo Hydropower plants and supply agreement with TMI, and activating its Interruptible Load Program.

“The implementation of the rotating power interruptions is necessary to avoid breakdown of the entire distribution system which happens when the demand is higher than what is being supplied” Luga added.

Meanwhile, Zamboanga del Sur will experience again three-hour daily brownouts that took effect yesterday.

This was after Mapalad Power Corporation (Mapalad) was shutdown last Wednesday for repair of its power generators.

Zamsureco-1 Information Officer Liberal Cabatcha said no information was relayed to them yet by Mapalad as to the duration of the maintenance work of the power plant.

The people in the province have enjoyed about two weeks of uninterrupted power supply after the cooperative was able to contract 10 MW from the Therma South, Inc. (TSI) to cover the cooperative’s power deficit.

Cabatcha said a two- to three- hour daily brownout will again be implemented by Zamsureco 1 in the province.

Mapalad, an Independent Power Producer (IPP), contributes five MW to Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperative 1 (Zamsureco-1) to meet the province daily peak load demand of 34-MW.