FORMER Oro Chamber chairman and president Raymundo Talimio Jr. said the reported red alert status of the electricity grid in Mindanao must be a cause of concern.
A red alert means available supply can no longer adequately cover electricity demand plus the grid’s required regulating reserve.
During an interview at the sidelines of the Mindanao Business Conference in Cagayan de Oro City last August 12, Talimio said Mindanao must set aside some of its surplus only to be used in the island in case of contingencies such as this.
“The emerging answer appears to be less about insufficient installed generation capacity and more about generation availability and reliability,” he said. “Mindanao may have an installed capacity surplus, but installed capacity on paper is not the same as dependable electricity available when consumers need it.”
“Why have generating units remained unavailable for months, and apparently in some cases for years? Are these prolonged outages being adequately investigated by the DOE and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)? Are sufficient dependable reserves being maintained before electricity is committed for transfer to another grid?,” he continued.
Talimio then said that interconnection is unquestionably good for the country but exports must never obscure the reliability requirements of the source grid.
“Because an electricity surplus that disappears when demand peaks is not much of a surplus at all,” he concluded.
