ARTICLE :
No Rotational Brownout yet in City
Friday, March 30, 2012AMID long hours of rotational brownouts in several parts of Mindanao, the Aboitiz-owned Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) assured Davao City on Friday it will not experience the same in the coming days.
Arturo Milan, DLPC executive vice president and chief operating officer, said only the cities of Davao and Cotabato have not experienced rotational brownouts at present.
Aboitiz also owned the Cotabato Electric Company, which supplies power to Cotabato City and nearby areas.
Milan recalled that it was two years ago when Davao City experienced daily rotational brownouts. This, he said, prompted them to prepare for the same scenario this year.
Some areas in Mindanao, particularly in Central and Western Mindanao, are experiencing rotational brownouts that could reach up to 12 hours daily.
Milan said DLPC has four standby power sources in place that will complement deficiency in power supply.
Milan said the Sibulan hydropower supplies DLPC with 42.25 megawatts (MW), Talomo has 4.5 MW, Bajada diesel plant has 40 MW, and a power barge that supplies at least 30 MW.
"The power barge is now in use," he said.
At present, the power demand of the city reaches 285 MW.
DLPC has recorded a total of 290,000 customers, including residential and commercials subscribers.
"Malayo pa until the situation of Mindanao will deteriorate in terms of power supply," Milan said.
He pointed out that they have already devised an action plan in the preparation for the power shortage in the entire Mindanao, one of which is the proposed interconnectivity of Mindanao and Visayas grid.
"If we have power shortage, we can get from them. If Visayas has the shortage, they can get from us," he said.
The encouragement of investments on power supply, he said, must also be considered, as there are no new capacities that would supply more electricity in Mindanao.
"This time, it should be non-hydro," he said, citing this as reason for the occurrence of the power crisis in Mindanao, being dependent so much on hydropower.
Hydropower comprised the bigger 51 percent of the total power supply in Mindanao.
He also recalled that the issue on power started even during the time of former President Fidel V. Ramos, adding that it's about time to deal with the problem seriously.
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on March 31, 2012.
LUCKILY, THERE WAS NO DECLARATION THIS YEAR REGARDING ON THIS ISSUE. I HAD A LITTLE BIT OF TRAUMA WHEN I EXPERIENCED THIS. IMAGINE NO ELECTRICITY EVERYDAY AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN.....
Last 2010 summer, was the time when rotational brownout was implemented and it was not really a very good timing to me. I and my band mates had a little gig and we were offered a little amount of money in exchange of performing and serenading songs to the guests, but sad to say that our practices were cut and disturbed by the rotational brown out. We waited at least 1-2 hours before it was circulated again and we needed to practice more in order to have a good performance and receive our pay. Fortunately, we were able to perform well because of our great determination and perseverance. The guests enjoyed our performance and we got the money but still it was very difficult, not only for me, but for the others ESPECIALLY who works everyday and needs electricity.
Another negative part of the rotational brown out is that when the electricity is out, the sun signal will be blacked out in my area and water system will also be shut off.
I don't know why this happened 2 years ago but I wish it will not happen again this time. Not only the residences will be affected by this but also the different establishments. Daily transactions and activities will also be interrupted. It is much better if there was a warning about this rotational brown out to certain places so that people can prepare ahead of time. That was one of the things that frustrated me because there was no proper dissemination of scheduled time about this rotational brown out.
