TAGUIG CITY – Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi today called for holistic power sector cooperation to help ensure energy security and help protect consumers against inconveniences stemming from power interruptions during this morning’s Senate Committee on Energy virtual inquiry on long-term solutions to the various power issues hounding the country.
“The Department of Energy has put in place the necessary policies to help the country attain energy security – from constructing the needed capacities up to ensuring that required reserves would be acquired,” Secretary Cusi said.
INTER-AGENCY COOPERATION FOR POWER GENERATION COMPLIANCE
According to the Energy chief, the Department of Energy (DOE) is working closely with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and other governmental entities such as the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) in determining the compliance of Generation Companies (GenCos), the System Operator and to their obligations as stated in the Grid Operating and Maintenance Program (GOMP). The GOMP is the schedule of planned or maintenance outages of GenCos and transmission facilities which should submitted to and approved by the DOE.
On 6 February 2020, the DOE issued Department Circular (DC) DC2020-02-0004, “Providing Guidelines on the Planned Outage Schedules of Power Plants and Transmission Facilities and the Public Posting of the Grid Operating and Maintenance Program”. Under the DC, scheduled maintenance activities, except for hydroelectric powerplants, are prohibited during the “peak quarter” (i.e. April, May, and June for the Luzon Grid).
“As discussed during the last hearing, the simultaneous unplanned outages and deratings of four powerplants led to the yellow and red alerts on May 31 to June 2. The DOE coordinated with the ERC and PCC, which are investigating the causes of these outages and deratings,” Secretary Cusi stated.
ROLE OF TRANSMISSION AND THE SYSTEM OPERATOR
The Energy Secretary also emphasized the importance of transmission in ensuring the delivery of electricity services to consumers. He noted the continued stranded capacities in Mindanao, Negros, and Zambales due to congested transmission lines or incomplete transmission projects, and emphasized the need for these to be completed as national grid interconnection would augment and make efficient the flow of power supply throughout the archipelago.
Furthermore, he expounded on the crucial role of the System Operator which is expected to, among others, ensure grid reliability, power supply sufficiency, and the conduct of demand-supply balancing. “The power of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines as the grid and system operator is there. It is part of their responsibilities to help address demand-supply variations,” he stressed.
THE NEED FOR OPERATIONAL COMPLIANCE
The Energy Secretary also explained that industry players like the NGCP had previously assured the agency of their compliance to issued directives only to find out later that it was merely “paper compliance”.
“To attain our common goal of ensuring round-the-clock availability of reliable and accessible power services to consumers, we need the operational compliance of all our industry players. We continue to emphasize teamwork in building a strong power system for the benefit of our consumers and our economy,” Secretary Cusi concluded.
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