An official of the Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday, September 2, maintained that there will be enough power supply next year to make sure that there would be no disruptions during the May 9, 2022 elections.
During the House appropriations committee hearing on the DOE's proposed budget for 2022, DOE Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said that projections from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) the country will have enough power supply come next year's polls.
"Sa forecast po, ang magiging kalagayan ng kuryente sa taong 2022, makikita natin sa initial forecast na ito ay sapat, wala pong yellow alert, at wala pong power interruption sa kadahilanan ng supply (In our initial forecast of the electricity situation for 2022, we can see that there would be no yellow alert, and there would be no power interruption caused by supply issues)," Fuentebella said when asked by Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate on the agency's "definitive plans" to ensure power supply during the elections.
"As far as 2022 Luzon power outlook is concerned, the DOE reiterates that we have enough supply," he told the Senate panel.
Fuentebella's made the assurance even as he previously disclosed that they expect a "thinning of supply on election day".
Presenting their outlook to lawmakers, the DOE official said that for week covering the election day, Luzon will have a reserve of 1,800 megawatts (MW). This is expected to decline to 1,500 MW for the next two weeks, and then will increase to 1,700 MW.
"All of which are above the yellow line, meaning, no yellow alert, and no expected power interruption based on supply," Fuentebella maintained.
But Zarate was not convinced with the assurance, citing power outages during consumption peaks, and the non-compliance of generation companies to scheduled shutdowns and other regulations by government agencies "As we know, we will be facing next year a very unprecedented election during the time of pandemic...Mahirap po kasi na magkaka-brown out talaga sa panahon ng eleksyon o may problema ang ating elektrisidad, dahil nga (It would be difficult to have brownouts or electricity problems during elections because) that's the biggest political event of the year," Zarate said.
"And alam naman po natin ngayon, dahil sa nagbabanggaang political parties, hindi mawawala na baka mabigyan ng kulay pulitika (with the ongoing clash between polical parties, we cannot help but suspect politicking in) the way our energy situation will be handled in the coming year," he added.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi earlier assured there will be enough power supply for the 2022 elections.