The Department of Energy is preparing to meet energy requirements nationwide through close coordination and monitoring of the whole electric power industry as it looks at the Visayan for more power sources, a government press release said.

The DOE said it has adopted three methods to avert any problem in power supply.

This plan addresses data showing that Luzon and Mindanao will have critical power situations during the summer months, the press release said.

Luzon needs an additional 300 MW during the said months to meet the 23.4 percent reserve margin for the projected 7,900 MW demand for this year.

Meanwhile, Mindanao will likely have a shortage by March as the Pulangui IV hydropower plant in Maramag, Bukidnon is set to undergo preventive maintenance suspension and in the summer months as the region relies heavily on hydro power.

DOE clarifies that the additional power needed in Luzon will be reserve power so it will not result in a power interruption.

The department stresses that Luzon will only experience brownouts if there are unscheduled outages of power plants or if the shortage gets bigger.

To address this, the agency is considering bringing the surplus power from Visayas via the Leyte-Luzon high voltage direct current link since the region is projected to have more than enough supply as new plants go online this year, the press release said.

For Mindanao, DOE is already coordinating with the National Power Corp. to look for alternative power such as power barges from Visayas or Luzon, in place for the hydro plant that will undergo maintenance for the whole March.

The department also projected that Mindanao’s situation will be better than 2010 since the current water level in the region is higher due to the La Niña phenomenon the country is experiencing.

Visayas, on the other hand, will have a better condition this year with new plants ready for use by March.

The plants are the 240-MW Coal-Fired Power Plant of Cebu Energy Development Corporation, 160-MW CFPP of Panay Energy Development Corporation, and the 200-MW CFPP of the Kepco-Salcon Power Corporation, the press release said.

The contribution of these plants will give the region a much stable power supply as the area now has reserve power.

Also contributing to the improvement of power in the region is the operation of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market Visayas which started in December 2010, the press release said.*

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