PNoy Welcomes Joint Resolution to Address Projected Power Crisis Next Year

President Benigno S. Aquino III has welcomed the joint resolution recently passed by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy to help the Executive Department address the power shortage that is expected to hit the country next year.

Speaking with members of the Philippine media in an interview Tuesday evening, President Aquino thanked the House for granting his request for a special authority to provide additional power-generating capacity, upon the recommendation of the Department of Energy.

President Aquino said he is looking forward to reading all details attached to it when he gets home from his two-day working visit here.

He however noted that even without the joint resolution, the government has already been coming up with energy conservation measures in preparation for the looming power crisis.

Government offices, he said, have been ordered to keep air conditioners at 25 degrees Celsius, and millions of higher efficiency light bulbs have been distributed to replace those that consume too much electricity.

Since the option of using modular generator sets has already been dropped, President Aquino mentioned that they are looking at the possibility of utilizing a newly-constituted generating plant, which plans to go online by March next year, on top of the Interruptible Load Program.

“Alam niyo, ito ‘yung point na talagang baka mausog e pero… Wala na ‘yung modular… pero merong baka mag-online na generating—new generating or newly-reconstituted generating… ibig sabihin, matapos i-rehabilitate, et cetera,” he told reporters.

President Aquino also said that they are currently focusing on the so-called ‘shift in demand’ in which peak hours are better managed to evenly distribute electricity among consumers.

“Pinoproblema natin ‘yung sumasagad… Hindi naman buong araw sagad, may hours na nasasagad. Kung maililipat lang natin ang ibang parte noon … sa lampas nitong parang two-hour windows, kung hindi ako nagkakamali—mapaaga sila, mahuli sila—bawas ang peak demand. So ‘yung ating natitirang reserves masangkot,” he explained. PND (hdc)

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