Source: Manila Bulletin

Source: Manila Bulletin
By GENALYN KABILING and BEN O. TESIORNA
March 11, 2010, 6:20pm

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo placed Mindanao under a state of calamity Thursday in a bid to put an end to the worsening power shortfall in the region.

She declared this as a businessman warned that the Mindanao grid may totally collapse in 45 days if rain will not come and the drawing of water in the lakes continues.

The President’s action also came at a time when one of the island’s power plants shut down while seven Agus may stop operations.

The Chief Executive approved the recommendation made by the National Disaster Coordinating Council on the declaration of calamity to mobilize all government resources to increase the power supply in Mindanao.

The declaration of state of calamity would enable local government units to use five percent of their calamity funds to address the power crisis in Mindanao.

Mindanao Development Authority Chairman Jesus Dureza broke the news to reporters about the President's approval of the NDCC recommendation to resolve the Mindanao power situation.

The President was traveling in Zamboanga peninsula when the approval of calamity proclamation was made. Vicente Lao, president of the Mindanao

Business Council, who had issued the collapse warning said the Agus and Pulangi complex are already in a very critical state and if the government could not find any other alternative source of energy then Mindanao better expect the worst – total power loss in most parts of the island.

Lao said the May 10, 2020 presidential elections will surely be affected as well with the possible Mindanao grid collapse.

The Dabawenyo business leader also rued how the national officials “belittle” the Mindanao power crisis.

The businessman said that even if the rain would come in May, the power generation problem will not normalize until November or December of this year. Lao urged the government to face the Mindanao power crisis head on and not be in a state of denial.

He said what Mindanao needs now are additional power generating facilities.

In a public hearing by the House Committee on Energy in Davao City last Thursday, Energy Secretary Angelo T. Reyes presented five options for the government to take in solving the power crisis. These are: invoke Section 71 of EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act); invoke Section 25 of Department of Energy (DoE) Act; declare a state of calamity; urge private sector to do generating capacity; and conduct inventory of embedded generators and bringing them to the grid.

Committee Chairman Rep. Mikey Arroyo, however, said that the most viable option would be the declaration of a state of calamity which Sec. Reyes concurred in.

The NGCP’s advisory stated that the Therma Marine 2 Unit that has a capacity of 50 megawatts is already on an emergency shutdown. It is owned and operated by the Aboitiz Power Corporation.

Because of this situation, power users in the southern island will continue to experience severe power supply deficiency of up to 748 MW, said NGCP.

The Lake Lanao’s seven Agus hydroelectric power plants located in the cities of Marawi and Iligan, and Pulangi V plant in Bukidnon are set for shutdown within 39 days if the critical water level will not improve.

Water elevation of the hydro power plants in these areas continues to be below critical level, the NGCP advisory said.

Lake Lanao water level is already at 699.02 meters, below the critical level of 699.15 meters, while Pulangi elevation is at 283.9 meters. Agus plants will be forced to shut down if water level reaches 698.15 meters.