VOL. 8 ISSUE 208 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JANUARY 15 - 16, 2016
P 15.00 • 20 PAGES
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EDGEDAVAO Serving a seamless society
LET ME THINK. Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) chief of hospital Dr. Leopoldo J. Vega seems to be gathering his thoughts as he talks to reporters in a press briefing yesterday to give the institution’s side on the syringestabbing incident in the emergency room of the hospital. Lean Daval Jr.
POWER STILL ‘VERY CRITICAL’
Davao Light warns of blackouts a week after coal-fired power plant’s inauguration By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.
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abf@edgedavao.net
HE Davao Light and Power Co. franchise continues to experience “very critical” power supply situation due to the extended El Niño phenomenon forecasted until May 2016. In a statement, Davao Light said rotating power interruptions may be implemented again if power supply remains lower than the franchise’s demand despite the contingency measures it is undertaking. The statement came just a week after President Benigno
Aquino inaugurated Therma South, Inc. (TSI)’s 300-MW coal-fired power plant in Davao City. Both Davao Light and TSI are subsidiaries of AboitizPower. The coal-fired power plant has been touted as one of the solutions to the power crisis in Mindanao. In his speech during the inauguration, Mr. Aquino emphasized the need to build more baseload power plants that can be tapped anytime “rain or shine, with very minor fluctuations.”
The new plant, however, appears to be of little help during the current drought. In its statement yesterday, Davao Light said its contract with the National Power Corporation-Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (NPC-PSALM) has already been reduced from 289 MW to 140 MW. “Davao Light is not getting in full its contracted power supply as major hydroelectric power plants in Mindanao were greatly affected by El
Niño,” the company said. Davao Light said as of yesterday (January 14, 2016), supply allocation from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to Davao Light was reduced to 108 MW from Wednesday’s 124 MW. “The reasons cited were the reduced capacity of the Agus & Pulangi plants due to low water inflow. Meanwhile, two Agus plants remained to be isolated,” it added. Davao Light said it is man-
F POWER, 10
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