By MYRNA M. VELASCO and CHITO A. CHAVEZ
Manila Electric Company (Meralco) customers suffered a double whammy Thursday with the rotating brownouts worsening to three hours and the announcement of a P0.93 per kilowatt hour (kWh) increase in generation charge.
The rotating brownouts in Meralco franchise areas increased to three hours due to the more than 833 megawatts (mW) of deficiency in generation, especially engulfing the grid during peak hours.
The P0.93 per kWh hike in generation charge announced by the utility firm pushes up line component in the electricity bills to P6.7699 per kWh this April billing, from last month’s P5.8417 per kWh. Generation charge is the cost of supply paid to power generators.
Meralco will also be re-implementing this month its P1.4917 per kWh distribution charge, which results in an up-tick of P0.27 per kWh because it came from deferment in the February and March billing cycles.
The utility firm qualified that this month’s generation charge level hit all-time high since it never reached such magnitude in any billing months over the years.
Meralco’s higher generation charge for this month’s billing was mainly due to higher cost of supply procurements from the WESM which reached as high as P11.36 per kWh, and the fuel cost accounting for the condensate shift of its contracted independent power producer First Gas because of the maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya gas facility from February 10 to March 13.
In a press briefing, Meralco president Jose P. de Jesus said the deficiency in power generation range from 641 to 833 mW at the utility firm’s demand peak hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., while at 7 p.m. peak the deficiency was recorded at 490 megawatts.
Meralco officials said the longer brownouts were triggered by shutdown of power plants, including a unit each of Sual and Pagbilao plants and the Sta. Rita modules 20 and 40. Malaya thermal facility ran out of fuel.
There were also power plants reported to be having limited generation capability such as Bauang diesel plant and the Ilijan gas facility’s Block B.
The hydropower plants also continue to be on de-rated capacity with San Roque power plant just contributing 90 mW; Angat with 74 mW; Magat with 90 mW; Binga at 50 mW; while Kalayaan’s generation was limited at 120 mW.
De Jesus qualified that rotating brownouts are being scheduled within the company’s service area depending on the level of supply made available by power generators.
For this month’s higher generation charge, Meralco first vice president and utility economics head Ivanna G. dela Pena noted that “the high prices in the WESM contributed to the upward adjustment”.
It was learned that the staggered pass-on of the mitigated generation charge from last month amounting to P0.07 per kWh has already been incorporated in the overall P0.93 per kWh hike this month.
Dela Pena further explained that the cost spikes in WESM’s supply “was a result of shortage in electricity supply, as there were several plants which were either out due to preventive or emergency maintenance, or with de-rated capacity because of the El Nino phenomenon”.
The utility firm added that purchased power from its contracted IPPs “still reflected the use of higher-priced condensate fuel by the natural gas plants”.
Power failure during May elections feared
With the return of the rotating brownouts in Luzon and the energy shortage in Mindanao, Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) senatorial candidate Jose “Joey” de Venecia III, the son and namesake of former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., said such scenario could be “rehearsals” of what may happen come May 10, 2010 election.
“The probability of the coming elections being plunged into darkness and confusion remains high. The return of rotating brownouts and the erratic performance of base load power plants in the Luzon grid, plus the acknowledged fiasco in the Mindanao grid are getting to look like rehearsals for the gloom that may envelop us on May 10,” he said.
De Venecia pointed out that even if the plants are returned to normal operating status, the voltage supplied to voting precincts can become so unstable as to prevent the proper operation of the precinct count optical machines since they were only subjected to random tests.
“While the voting machines may have their own power supply, the voting public would still be wary of casting their vote in the dark. We are now seeing the foolhardiness of the Comelec decision to rush the nationwide deployment of the untested PCOS machines without knowing if they operate at optimum level when subjected to sudden power outages or voltage fluctuations," he said.
The PMP stalwart pointed out that even in other more advanced countries, the use of automated vote counting machines is normally carried out in phases over several years to determine how the equipment, particularly their internal micro-electronics, work.
Maynilad cuts water allocation
Meanwhile, with the steady decline of the water level in Angat Dam, concessionaire Maynilad said it has reduced by 10 percent, from 2,400 million liters per day (MLD) to 2,150 MLD, the raw water allocation of its customers beginning this month.
Last February, water level in the main source of water in Metro Manila has pegged at 201.12 meters but due to the dry spell and rising temperature the level dropped to 181 meters this month.
If the trend continues, Maynilad said that the Angat Dam water level is expected to plunge further to 176 at the end of the month, the lowest figure recorded since 2004.
With the reduced raw water allocation, Maynilad appealed for public understanding as certain measures have to be made to prevent an even worse water shortage scenario.
With the reduction of raw water this month, Maynilad said the end users will likely experience lower water pressure and shortened water supply schedules in most portions of the West Zone the company is servicing.
As a result of the company’s mitigating measures, only one to two percent of its customers were affected by the El Niño phenomenon but with the 250 MLD raw water allocation cut and the rise water consumption in the summer months, about eight percent or 156 barangays of Maynilad’s turf will be affected by the reduced water supply.
While the public may view the situation as alarming, Maynilad said it will relentlessly implement its valving operations and resetting of pressure reducing valves to counter the dry spell and allay the end-users’ fears.
Fuel price hike adds to woes
As this developed, concerned sectors pleaded to the Department of Energy (DoE) to do something, anything about the impending rise of domestic fuel prices in the coming weeks.
This, after the DoE itself hinted at the possibility of more price hikes from local oil companies in order to reflect the uptrend in international crude prices, something that was brought about by the recovery of the United States’ (US) economy.
Big and small oil firms implemented on Tuesday a P0.50 per liter hike on their gasoline, diesel and kerosene prices, much to the chagrin of public utility jeep (PUJ) groups.
Tuesday’s price increase practically cancelled out the accumulated P0.50 per liter reduction that the same companies imposed on their pump the past two weeks. Before the measly rollbacks, oil players had jacked up their pump products by as much as P3 per liter.
The Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (ACTO) has threatened to carry out a transport holiday sometime next week if authorities remain idle on the oil price predicament.
“Magsasagawa kami ng transport strike next week kung hindi kaya ng DoE na gumawa ng paraan para pigilan ang panloloko ng mga oil companies,” ACTO President Efren de Luna said.
ACTO claims to have a membership of 365,000 nationwide. (“We will conduct a transport strike next week if the DoE can’t find ways to stop the oil companies' scam.”)
With diesel price now pegged at no lower than P34 a liter, De Luna said that jeepney drivers could hardly bring home P300 a day. “Ano pa ang matitira para sa aming mga pamilya,” he said, adding that jeepney drivers must also deal with several forms of taxes that are “directly taken from their earnings.” (“What would be left for our families?”)
The transport leader added: “Wala namang tulong na natatanggap ang transport sector mula sa gobyerno (“The transport sector receives no help whatsoever from the government)”.
Meanwhile, lawyer Vladimir Cabigao, spokesperson of the Social Justice Society (SJS), said that energy officials should instead perform its mandate and not procrastinate on the matter.
“They have to do something about it by exploring options on how we can reduce our dependence on oil. The DoE was created to meet our energy problems, not to sit on the fence while watching the people to wallow in difficulty,” Cabigao said.
Newly installed acting Energy Secretary Jose Ibazeta conceded that the Philippines would have no choice but to follow international price trends since it is almost entirely dependent on imported crude products.
DoE Oil Industry and Management Bureau Director, Zenaida Monsada, noted that international analysts see traders pushing up oil prices as an over-reaction to optimism on the recovery of the global economy, anchored mainly on the resurgence of the US.
With reports from JC Bello Ruiz, Ellson A. Quismorio and Pam Brooke A. Casin
Manila Bulletin
