• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The recent power interruptions affecting consumers are primarily caused by an insufficient supply of electricity in the grid and not by the operations of Negros Electric and Power Corp. (Negros Power).
Lawyer Arnel Lapore, acting general manager of Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO), said the brownouts were the result of a shortage in available power supply.
He explained that the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) implements manual load dropping (MLD) when the power supply becomes insufficient, particularly during periods when yellow and red alerts are declared.
“If there is insufficient power, NGCP has the mandate to manually drop the load to protect and preserve the integrity of the power grid,” Lapore said.
He stressed that the situation is not exclusive to Negros Power as electric cooperatives and distribution utilities in neighboring areas are also affected whenever there is a shortage of available generation capacity.
Lapore pointed out the issue goes beyond the operations of distribution utilities and should be addressed at the national level.
“This is basically a national issue that has to be acted upon by the government. It involves power generation and transmission. Distribution has nothing to do with the lack of available supply,” he said.
Lapore added that if there is sufficient and stable power supply, Negros Power would be capable of providing electricity to its consumers round-the-clock, except during scheduled power interruptions needed for the repair and maintenance of substations and other facilities.
“Basically, during the time of Negros Power, there has been a 97 percent reduction in brownouts, except for interruptions caused by manual load dropping,” Lapore said.
Meanwhile, following the asset takeover by Negros Power, Ceneco officially retained a 30 percent equity stake in the new joint venture entity.
Under the agreement, Primelectric Holdings Inc., which is part of the Enrique K. Razon group, acquired 70 percent of Ceneco’s distribution assets in a cash transaction valued at more than P2 billion.
The arrangement allows the cooperative to maintain an ownership interest in the new distribution utility while Negros Power takes over the operation, rehabilitation and modernization of the power distribution system.
Lapore said the recent manual load dropping incidents highlight the continuing challenge of ensuring sufficient power generation and a reliable transmission system, issues that are beyond the control of individual distribution utilities.
He said resolving the country’s power supply concerns will require stronger government action and investments in power generation and transmission to prevent recurring grid-related interruptions. | GPB
