Now only hour-long as TSI’s Unit 2 goes online
By Cheneen R. Capon
Aboitiz-owned Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) announced shorter rounds of rotating power interruptions in its franchise area after all units of the 300 MW coal-fired power plant of sister company Therma South, Inc. (TSI) went online yesterday.
“Once Davao Light receives the full power supply of 50 MW, which is based on contract from the said plant, duration will be decreased to 30 minutes to 1 hour,” DLPC said in a statement.
This will be shorter than the two- to three-hour scheduled blackouts announced last Wednesday to be rolled out in the franchise area of the DLPC, which includes Davao City and portions of the Davao del Norte.
The DLPC has a contracted supply of a total of 100MW with TSI’s 300 MW coal-fired power plants. The power plant has two 150-MW units, of which Unit 2 tripped twice on Wednesday.
“TSI synced with the grid a little over midnight last night,” Wilfredo Rodolfo III, AboitizPower corporate branding and communication manager, said in a text message yesterday.
Unit 2 had just completed a 10-day preventive maintenance shutdown that ended on February 28 before tripping three days later.
Although TSI’s two units have fully synced with the grid, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) recorded a 27-MW deficit yesterday. The NGCP said the power demand yesterday was seen to reach 1,420MW, surpassing the 1,393 system capacity as of 1:00 p.m.
The NGCP said the low capacity of the state-owned hydroelectric power plants Agus-Pulangi Complexes due to El Niño resulted in the power deficit.
The bombing of towers and transmission lines of the NGCP also causes grid deficit.
Agus 1 and 2 remained isolated from the Mindanao grid because Tower 25 remained unrepaired for more than two months after it was bombed last Christmas Eve because of a conflict with private landowners on which the tower stands.
