Visayas faces rotational power outages

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Department of Energy said over the weekend consumers in the Visayas may continue to experience rotational power outages as the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines works to normalize the transmission of supply.

“The DUs will have to manage their load given the limited capacity of substations, and accordingly supply of power, while NGCP is working on full recovery of the grid,” the DOE said in a statement Sunday.

In Brief

PSE index likely to test 6,600 level this week

LOCAL stocks are expected to move sideways with an upward momentum in this shortened trading week on expectations of positive firstquarter earnings of listed companies.

“Next week, the local market may test the 6,600 line. The strong conviction seen last Friday gives us hope that the market would be able to hold its ground at the said line. If it is able to do so, 6,600 will be considered as its new support, while its next resistance would be at 6,800,” Philstocks Financial Inc. senior research manager Japeth Louis Tantiangco said.

Tantiangco said investors were anticipating first-quarter corporate earnings to remain strong despite macroeconomic headwinds. Initial corporate earnings results were strong with banks registering high double-digit growth in profits in the first quarter.

Tantiangco said another factor that could boost market sentiments is if April inflation rate continues to slow down from 7.6 percent in March.

“How the market will close the week, however, may depend on our April inflation figures. An inflation reading slower than March’s 7.6 percent, especially one near or at the lower end of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 6.3 percent to 7.1 percent ranged forecast may give the local market a boost,” Tantiangco said. Jenniffer B. Austria

ERC issues preliminary rates for RE auction

THE Energy Regulatory Commission released over the weekend the preliminary Green Energy Auction Reserve prices for the second round of the Green Energy Auction Program that will be conducted by the Department of Energy in June.

GEAR prices serve as the ceiling price for the GEAP 2 where DOE will offer a total capacity of 11,600 megawatts in renewable energy installation target, with 3,600 MW for 2024, 3,600 MW for 2025 and 4,400 MW for 2026. The ERC generally set lower rates for GEAP-2 compared to GEAP-1 except for wind and biomass. “Solar is higher in GEAR-2 preliminary. Wind is lower this year because its capacity factor has improved,” ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said.

The agency set the GEAR price for different solar technologies: rooftop solar at P4.7156 per kilowatt-hour, ground-mounted solar at P4.2395 per kWh and floating solar at P4.7565 per kWh.

It also set the GEAR price for wind at P5.9823 per kWh and biomass P5.1475 per kWh but set aside the waste-to-energy, which will be posted at a later time prior to the commencement of the public consultations. Alena Mae S. Flores

BEXCS Logistics discloses overseas expansion plan

BEXCS Logistics Solutions Inc. said it plans to further expand its operations overseas this year to serve the growing demand for e-commerce globally. BEXCS Logistics chairperson and BEXCS Worldwide chief executive Marjorey Rubio said the company, which was established in Bulacan, would expand its footprint not only in the Philippines but also in neighboring Asian countries such as Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The logistics company recently opened new offices in Hong Kong and Taiwan to put BEXCS into the universal logistic market. “We’ve partnered with numerous companies and organizations from Taiwan and Hong Kong, and we hope that through this fruitful partnership, we will open more financial streams for the company while staying committed to our goals of providing opportunities to many people,” Rubio said.

“In the third quarter, we are expanding in the US, Malaysia, Dubai and Europe,” she said.

Rubio said the company plans to open 287 branches in the Philippines this year, including 81 company-owned outlets.

“BEXCS has been operational since 2019, and it was only last year that we officially launched it along with the opening of our franchise business and headquarters in Cebu, which aims to cater to our growing customers here in the Philippines,” she said. Darwin G. Amojelar

Visayas consumers experienced up to 12hour blackout in the past three days, and the NGCP said it was still determining the root cause of the outages. Power interruptions were experienced in Cebu, Iloilo, Antique, Capiz, Aklan and Guimaras.

“Thus, DUs may still impose rotational brownouts until full recovery of the grid. With the entry of PCPC [Palm Concepcion Power Corp.], we would have a stronger network through the generation reactive support, and the system voltage will stabilize to normal condition,” the DOE said. NGCP said it was tirelessly working with the generation and distribution sectors to resolve the power outages. “We are cognizant of the suffering the recent spate of power interruptions have wrought on the consumers and businesses in the provinces and cities of Panay island,” it said.

“While we have assessed our system for possible malfunctions, and confirmed that our protocols are working as intended, we are also exploring the possibility that adjustments need to be made along the supply chain to stabilize power in Panay,” it said.

“In this regard, we are working with our counterparts in the generation and distribution sectors to implement the needed adjustments on our respective protection settings, and resolve the issue soonest,” it said.

The Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. said it was monitoring the power situation in the

Visayas after the NGCP reported system disturbances in the grid. “Philreca wishes to emphasize that the situations that caused power interruptions are beyond the ECs’ control, but rest assured that our ECs are closely coordinating with NGCP for the restoration of electricity,” the group said.

Meanwhile, Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corp. agreed to simultaneously operate its three power plants to avert the 20-hour rotational brownout in the province, National Electric Administration administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda said over the weekend.