Cotabato Light consumers brace for brownout
Local News • 19:40 PM Thu Jul 23, 2015
2,545
By:
Edwin Fernandez
COTABATO
CITY – The Aboitiz-owned Cotabato Light and Power Company (Cotabato Light)
today warned of longer power interruption in its franchise areas if the
critical water levels in the Agus and Pulangi hydropower plants deteriorate.
Arlene
Hipega, Cotabato Light corporation communications officer, said the power
utility is yet to impose rotational brownout in Cotabato City and the towns of
Sultan Kudarat and Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao.
Cotabato
Light may apply a one hour rotational brownout any day now,” Hipega told DXMS Radio
Bida in an interview.
She
said Cotabato Light daily power requirement is 23 megawatt but as of Thursday,
the firm is only getting about 14 megawatts from the National Power Corporation
through the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
In
the meantime, Hipega said Cotabato Light is running its diesel-fed generators which
could mean a slight increase in the monthly power bills of power concessionaires.
The
generators are producing 4.6 megawatt for Cotabato Light power consumers to
augment the limited power supply from NGCP, she said.
There
will be an increase of about 11 centavos per kilowatt hour,” she added.
Hipega
said it was not only Cotabato Light that is getting limited power supply in
Mindanao due to July 18 to August 16 scheduled preventive maintenance of STEAG
power plant 1 in Misamis Oriental and the reduced production of Agus and
Pulangi hydropower plants in Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon.Rotation brownouts are also happening in Davao City, North Cotabato, Koronadal City, Zamboanga peninsulaand Gen. Santos City