Oriental Mindoro is still short of about ‘15-barangay size’ electricity loads
Despite ‘high-profile’ power projects in the future
CALAPAN CITY – The province of Oriental Mindoro is still short of the present power or electricity demand, and the concerned government and non-government agencies were advised to find an immediate solution to this potential power crisis.
This was learned from the Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Ormeco), the lone electric franchisee in the province, during the public consultation on Oriental Mindoro power development plan, which was held at the provincial capitol square in Calapan City on Tuesday (June 26).
According to the statistics presented by Engr. Mike Guico, Ormeco representative to the said activity, the province needs an immediate solution this pending power crisis in the problem in the face of the current situation.
He said that all the present power sources in the provinces – two fuel-run power plants, a generating facility, and two mini-hydro power plants – can generate to as much as 28.60 megawatts of electricity as its dependable power capacity.
However, the actual and normal power demand presently by the whole island province runs to about 28.87 to 30.5 megawatts, with the city of Calapan, the most thickly-populated and energized area in Oriental Mindoro, needs some 9.37 MW to almost 11 MW as its “peak load” or consumption daily. This means that the whole province is short of 1.63 MW or electricity loads of an estimated 15 highly electric-consuming barangays.
All the “high-profile” power projects that were recently programmed in the province, such as the 48-MW wind power project to be installed in Puerto Galera, a northernmost town of the said province, will be beneficial only after three years starting to its installation this July. And because of this, Oriental Mindoro has nowhere to run but to have its electric generating system “interconnected” to the Luzon main grid and avail of the power from the mainland area on as its immediate solution to the power crisis.
Presently, the five power sources in the province, through Ormeco distributing system, is distributing electricity to all its consumers on an alternate or load-shedding system, meaning, on equal distribution. As a result, a “rotational brownout” is being experienced by the consuming public here.
Acknowledging the predicament, Governor Alfonso V. Umali, Jr. stated that the provincial government and most of Oriental Mindoro’s local government units (LGUs) is now endorsing to President Benigno C. Aquino III the proposal of 1st District Rep. Rodolfo G. Valencia for power interconnection of Mindoro Island and Batangas province, and the provincial chief executive is asking Malacañang to immediately facilitate the said state of being connected reciprocally of the two Luzon islands.(By JUANCHO R. MAHUSAY)
