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Rizal lawmaker demands uninterrupted power supply during summer, May polls

Philippines | National

Rizal lawmaker demands uninterrupted power supply during summer, May polls

By Ben R. Rosario

Rizal 2nd District Representative Fidel Nograles on Wednesday, Jan. 19 demanded from the Department of Energy an assurance of ample power supply in summer and ensure that brownouts will not disrupt the holding of the May elections.

ELECTRICITY TOWERS

This developed as the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) forecasted thin energy supply during the dry season due to increased demand, possibly affecting the May 2022 elections.

Nograles, vice chairman of the House Committee on Justice, warned that such scenario, if worsens, could cause disruption of the national elections.

“We should do everything to prevent outages especially during the elections. We do not want the credibility of the May 2022 elections to suffer just because we can’t solve brownouts.”

The neophyte solon also suggested that in case power plants need to do preventive maintenance, the schedule must be coordinated with the DOE to ensure that they will not be offline simultaneously.

“For years, this has been happening and I don’t understand why we have not seen how to solve this annual problem of summer power outages.” he noted.

The Hardvard-trained lawyer likewise proposed that the DOE also look into tapping renewable energy solutions as a stop-gap measure.

“I think there are solar power systems that can be easily installed in communities. I have heard of NGOs doing it, why can’t the DOE do it? This may even be the answer to our long-elusive target of 100% electrification,” he said.

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