Cusi: Round the Clock Work in Place to Restore Power in Quake-hit Areas

Wazzup Pilipinmas!

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi thanked on Saturday the men and women who are working on 24-hour shifts to bring back electricity within three to five days in the quake-affected areas in the Visayas, especially in Leyte.

Cusi today conducted an aerial and ground inspection of the various power plants, including geothermal facilities, that sustained damage from the magnitude 6.5 quake that recently hit the region.

A combination of bypass and build-back-better strategies are being implemented by the engineers, with Cusi expressing hope that power will be fully restored within seven days.

"I commend the dedicated Warays and the other personnel who are working 24/7 to fast track the delivery of safe and reliable electricity services to around 3 million consumers," said Cusi.

"The Yolanda experience taught us a lot and I have seen that we have improved on our restoration practices," he said, adding "but there is always room for improvement.”

"I am hopeful that we can see a tremendous improvement in the delivery of energy services within three to seven days."

DOE Invites Koreans to Invest in PH Energy Projects

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Department of Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella promoted Philippine energy investment opportunities during the Korea-Asia Energy Cooperation Seminar convention at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 7 July 2017.

The Philippines' Department of Energy (DOE) under Secretary Alfonso Cusi today announced to Asian energy sector players and government officials that the Philippines will require 43,765 megawatts (MW) of additional electricity capacity by 2040.

Represented by Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella, he told the Korea-Asia Energy Cooperation that the required additional capacity represents a three-fold increase in the Philippines' demand for energy.

Fuentebella also expounded on the energy policies and thrusts of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte during the convening of the seminar at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul.

The DOE official briefed the audience of promising investment prospects in the Philippine energy sector.

"To address this need, the Philippines would need 70% base load power plants, 20% medium range power plants and 10% peak load power plants."

Fuentebella cited the demand for new power plants in areas identified by the DOE in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Major energy projects were also highlighted in the presentation, such as the Integrated LNG Terminal and Visayas-Mindanao Interconnection Project along with their corresponding costs and projected timelines for completion.

To highlight the Philippines as an attractive destination for energy investors, Fuentebella announced that President Duterte recently signed Executive Order No. 30 giving priority status to energy projects.

Under E.O. 30, an Energy Investment Coordinating Council was created to streamline regulatory procedures affecting energy projects of national significance.

The EO also reduced to 30 days the processing time for applications for energy-related undertakings and projects.

In the open forum, the DOE official said the Philippine government is open to looking at micro-grids to augment the energy supply given the country's archipelagic location.

He said the DOE would soon release guidelines pertaining to the Green Energy Option.

Following the seminar, several Korean companies expressed interest in exploring energy investment opportunities in the Philippines.

Fuentebella provided a comprehensive overview of the Philippines’ primary energy mix, energy demand and supply outlooks from ‎2016-2040 as well as strategic directions

Power In Quake-hit Visayas To Be Restored ASAP - DOE

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We will bring back power as fast and as safely as is humanly possible to areas in the Visayas affected by a strong quake that rocked the region.

This was the consensus reached by the energy family under the Department of Energy (DOE), as well as their private sector partners, during an emergency meeting called by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi at the DOE headquarters today.

Cusi assured the public that the DOE and all of its attached instrumentalities and commercial partners are on top of the situation. "We are all working round the clock and all hands are on deck," said Cusi.

According to the Energy Development Corp. (EDC) and Green Core Geothermal, they are providing generator sets in coordination with the local officials of Municipality of Kananga and Ormoc City to critical facilities like municipal halls, hospitals and water districts.

EDC and Green Core said, impact assessment measures are being undertaken at their geothermal power plants.

Based on the technical assessment of the companies, the marshalling stations or the central switching station of Leyte power plants will be restored within 3-5 days to enable importation of power supply from Cebu to the provinces of Leyte, Samar and Bohol.

For transmission, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is undergoing further assessment of their transmission facilities in determining the specific timeline on the restoration of the damaged facilities.

As of 2:30 p.m., the 138kilovolt (kV) Ormoc-Tongonan T/L near the affected Tongonan Geothermal Power Plant with a power supply capacity of about 35 megawatts (MW) is ready to be energized.

On the distribution side, electric cooperatives (ECs) in Samar and Leyte provinces have no power but most of their facilities sustained no damage. Currently, the ECs are awaiting the powering up of the transmission facilities.

The entire province of Bohol remains without power.

To augment the power supply in the affected provinces, the government, through the DOE, is working with alternative power suppliers, such as Trans Asia and Salcon Power to deploy Power Barges 101, 102, and 103 and the unutilized 16 MW diesel-fired power plants.

To fast track the restoration further, the National Electrification Administration prepared the mechanism for a “quick response fund” to be allocated to ECs with damaged facilities.

The DOE coordinated with the concerned agencies to determine the timelines and other significant details in the deployment of the power barges and dispatching of the diesel power plant.

To supervise these complex yet integrated tasks, Sec. Cusi created a Project Management Team for the earthquake affected areas.

"We are on top of the situation and we will deliver the much-needed energy services immediately," Cusi concluded.

The DOE Central Office and Visayas Field Office (VFO) are open to accommodate inquiries and support from the public through the hotline number ‎‎479-2900 loc. 329 for consumer concerns and ‎‎(032) 253-7222; ‎‎253-2150 for the VFO concerns.