Energy Department Working With Local Governments To Secure Power Supply In Mindanao

The Department of Energy is coordinating efforts to ensure a continuous and reliable power supply in Mindanao, particularly in areas where transmission towers of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) had been bombed, the Palace said on Thursday.

Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada has reported that an additional capacity of up to 600 megawatts (MW) will come onstream in the first half of this year, starting with the 150-MW thermal power plant of the Aboitiz Group, which President Benigno S. Aquino III will inaugurate on Friday.

“Also according to Secretary Monsada, on the bombing of transmission towers, the operations of 14 out of the 15 towers have resumed,” Secretary Coloma said during a press briefing in Malacañang.

Lanao del Sur’s provincial government, led by Governor Mamintal Adiong, is working with other concerned local government units, as well as the NGCP, to beef up security for the transmission towers, the Palace official said, adding that the provincial government is also working to address right-of-way issues with landowners where the towers are located.

Coloma noted that despite the bombing of the transmission towers, the electricity supply in Mindanao will remain stable because it is derived from a combination of sources, including existing hydroelectric power plants.

“The power grid in the region is not solely dependent on these transmission towers, which are connected to the Agus-Pulangi hydroelectric power plants,” he said.

Coloma also assured that there would be enough power supply for Mindanao during the upcoming national elections, saying this is part of the efforts of the Department of Energy.

He said that despite past concerns on the energy supply in Mindanao, the country was able to conduct a successful election in 2013, and there is no reason for this year’s election to be disrupted by power shortage. PND

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