22 Sep DOE Intends to Bring Back Dump Power Rates for Indigent Households in Mindanao
When excess power from the region’s hydroelectric power plants becomes available, the Department of Energy will then discuss with stakeholders on the possible restoration of dump power rates.
DOE Undersecretary Benito L. Ranque visited the Pulangui IV hydroelectric plant in Maramag, Bukidnon last Tuesday, September 13, 2016, which urged the issue on dump power rates.
A discussion on the development of a Social Development Framework for the Energy Sector which was hosted by the First Bukidnon Electric Cooperative Incorporated (FIBECO) was held on the same day. Ranque said before the participants “I found out that the plant has been forced on occasion to dump water without producing electricity since it has been relegated as an ancillary reserve by the grid operator.”
If Pulangui IV had a much higher accessible capacity to provide more than what was required by National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) as an ancillary reserve, the system operator dispatcher of the NGCP based in Iligan, then it could regularly produce a smaller capacity than what the plant was capable of, Ranque explained. Therefore Pulagui IV had to unload water without traversing in turbines to provide what should have been a cheaper electricity for households in Mindanao.
A plant personnel who requested anonymity said, “Sometimes we had to dump water as frequently as two to three times a week without passing them through the turbines.”
The Mindanao Grid then operated by the National Power Corporation (Napocor, now taken over by the Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management Corporation or PSALM) granted “dump power” rates until the early 1990s. There was more water from the Agus and Pulangui River than could be supported by the Agus and Pulangui hydroelectric power complex.
A senior energy executive said, “It was practiced before when there was too much water in Lake Lanao and Pulangui River. They just apply for additional loads and they were billed at only 50 percent of the current generation rate.”
He added that the manufacturing firms were offered to operation additional shifts to generate more goods and gain economies of scale as the availability of dump power rates was enabled.
Ranque indicated, “It’s unfortunate this is happening when many of Mindanao’s sitios remain without electricity even if all municipalities have already been reported as electrified under parameters set by the National Electrification Administration (NEA).”
Under Ranque’s supervision, the NEA is an attached agency of the DOE which is charged with the implementation of the country’s rural electrification program.
According to Ranque, DOE will encourage private distribution facilities like Cepalco, Davao Light, and Cotabato Light as well as rural electric cooperatives like FIBECO and MORESCO I & II to utilize the rates provided the most affordable electricity access made available for the poor once the Energy Regulatory Commission amends the restoring of dump power rates.
The Pulangui IV power plant has three turbines estimated at 85 megawatts (MW) each for a total production of 255MW. Yet, Ranque noticed that it would restrict by the orders of the system operator dispatcher to carry out a much lower amount than what the plant was proposing.
Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation operates the distribution utilities who purchase power from the hydroelectric plants in the Agus-Pulangui hydroelectric power complex and its remaining thermal power plants only pays P2.87/KW.
Thousands of poor households in Mindanao continue to be denied the benefits of electricity and the PSALM and NGCP is allowing Pulangi IV to dump water without generating power, Ranque stated that he would definitely ask these electric providers to explain this issue.
President of the Mindanao Coalition of Power Consumers, Engr. David A. Tauli stated, “The DOE should direct the NGCP to formulate generating plant dispatch procedures that would minimize the waste of electric energy from Pulangi IV. The personnel of Pulangi IV could then monitor how Pulangi IV is dispatched, and the NGCP could be penalized whenever it wastes the energy from the hydropower plant.”
Tauli added, “The general rule in dispatching is that the lowest cost generator must be dispatched first, but this is clearly being violated in the case of Pulangi IV. The need for ancillary services is being used by NGCP as the reason for not dispatching Pulangui IV. We need to get the NGCP to specify in detail the dispatching procedures for Pulangui IV so that its potential for generation is not wasted. They will also have to specify how PSALM can be compensated when Pulangui IV is used as an ancillary reserve.”
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