MANILA, March 16 (PNA) — Malacanang on Monday reiterated that they continue to coordinate with lawmakers to address conflicting versions of the proposed Interruptible Load Program (ILP) measure and prevent a power crisis during the summer months.
“We continue to work closely with Congress in threshing out issues pertaining to the enactment of a Joint Resolution to address the possible power supply shortage for the duration of the summer season,” Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement.
Under the ILP, customers of distribution utilities (DUs) that have generator sets will be allowed to augment capacity when electricity supply is low to ensure that power deficit will be addressed.
These customers will then be paid on the fuel and oil used in running their own generators and on the depreciation of their equipment.
The House version aims to give ILP participants full subsidy while the Senate wants consumers to shoulder the expenses.
Sans the joint version, Coloma reiterated the government’s call for the public to help in the electricity conservation efforts and for the private sector to continue helping in the ILP.
He said the Department of Energy (DOE) “continues to monitor closely the supply situation in view of the start of the annual maintenance of the Malampaya power plant.”
“It is hoped that with the adoption of these contingency measures, and with full public support, the possibility of rotating two-hour brown-outs in Luzon, which has been projected as the worst-case scenario, may be minimized,” he added.
Relatively, the DOE has said that it continues to monitor the country’s over-all energy sector condition vis-à-vis the scheduled maintenance works at the Malampaya natural gas facility at offshore Palawan from March 15 to April 13, 2015.
“The Department is optimistic on the power condition during the turnaround but forecasts disclose thin power reserves during the period,” it said.
DOE has projected one or two-hour rotational power outages in Metro Manila during the summer months this year given the increased power demand.
It has, however, maintained that measures are now being put in place to address the situation. (PNA)