Negros power summit set to ensure stable local supply
Negros Occidental map. INQUIRER FILES
BACOLOD CITY — The Negros Occidental provincial government is set to hold a power summit in February to ensure adequate and stable power supply on the island following the recent blackouts on Panay Island.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the province is also pushing for more renewable energy.
“The purpose is to ensure that we have enough power now and in the future. Learning from what happened in Panay, we would like to make sure that it will not happen here,” the governor said.
He said there has also been a proposal for an offshore wind power farm to be located in the waters between Negros and Panay.
READ: Power outage hits Panay Island
The Negros Occidental provincial government is engaging the University of St. La Salle (USLS) in Bacolod City to come up with an energy roadmap.
Panay and Guimaras islands as well as parts of Negros experienced a three-day power outage that started on Jan. 2 due to the tripping of multiple power plants.
The Energy Regulation Commission (ERC) has initiated an investigation into the power outage on the islands of Panay, Guimaras, and parts of Negros.
READ: Iloilo lost P3.7B during 3-day power outage
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) called for an industry-wide approach to resolve the persistent power supply issues, pointing out that their mandate was confined to transmission of power from producers to grid-connected areas and not in power generation.
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said all the power generators on Negros Island will be invited to the summit.
He said while Negros produces 700 megawatts (MW) of power and only consumes 440 MW, the power it produces goes through the grid for consumers elsewhere.
He said Negros needs to harness the power it produces locally for local consumption before it is exported to other areas.
“One of the reasons why we have this disturbance or outages is because sometimes the power supply still comes from other areas, and we rely heavily on the transmission lines,” Benitez said.
“Negros embedded power is needed, and the summit will be held to find a win-win solution,” he added./###
