Despite the potential two yellow alerts this week and the week during the holding of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), the Department of Energy (DOE) has assured the public of sufficient power supply during the local polls. In a statement Thursday, DOE said measures are all in place to prevent any unscheduled power outages that may disrupt the BSKE. DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said energy stakeholders have undertaken necessary preparations to ensure that there would be enough supply of power before, during, and after elections. ‘Safeguarding the energy needs of the country during the critical electoral process is our foremost concern and we have enlisted the full cooperation of all our stakeholders in the generation, transmission and distribution sectors in this endeavor,’ Lotilla added. He said the Energy Task Force Election has coordinated with generating companies and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to ensure the availability of generating units to meet the demand and required reserves during the BSKE. “Suspension of preventive maintenance and testing of generating units one week before and after the elections will be strictly enforced,” the agency added. DOE said the Luzon grid has a buffer of at least 700 megawatts (MW) of power next week. DOE forecasts that demand in Luzon during the election week is at 12,257 MW, higher than the current demand of 10,500 to 11,500 MW. Latest available data from NGCP showed that available generating capacity of Luzon grid on Wednesday was at 14,100 MW.
Source: Philippines News Agency
