MANILA -- The summer-like brownout is back in several parts of Mindanao as a unit of a major coal plant in Mindanao bogged down, while another unit is under maintenance shutdown.
Energy Secretary Jericho Petila has confirmed that unit 2 of the generation plant of STEAG State Power has a damaged rotor. The other unit, meanwhile, is undergoing rehabilitation.
This has effectively depleted Mindanao's power supply by 200 megawatts.
According to Petilla, there will be brownouts of up to a maximum of eight hours in several parts of Mindanao and that even Davao and Cagayan de Oro will be affected.
But he is confident that with an embedded supply, the impact would be minimal.
The absence of 200 megawatts will continue until end of August. By September, unit 1 will be back in operation, although there is no assurance yet when unit 2 will go on stream.
Several other plants, including hydro plants of Agus and Pulangi, will also undergo maintenance shutdowns. The power supply shortage may thus continue until November or December.
Meanwhile, Petilla will go to Albay next week to present to residents their options in rehabilitating the ailing Albay Electric Cooperative in order to pay its ballooning debts.
The options include a new management team or an entity that will take over all its debts. Petilla clarified, however, that the ownership of Aleco will still be the same since it is a cooperative and tht only the management and personnel that will be changed.
Aleco project supervisor, Atty. Vicky Briones, hopes the cooperative will be able to pay its P180 million to P200 million electric bill this August as collection has already improved after they were cut off from the national grid last week due to unpaid obligations.
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