Senior Citizens Party-list Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes (Facebook)

Senior Citizens Party-list Rep. Rodolfo "Ompong" Ordanes says elderly Filipinos need assurance of ample power supply to energize their homes in order to prevent instances of heat stroke and other medical conditions. 

“Senior citizens are vulnerable to heat stroke, if they are not used to high temperatures,” Ordanes said in a statement Sunday, May 12. 

Heat stroke is a potentially life- threatening form of heat-related illness as extreme heat can damage heart cells and blood cells as well as affect internal organs. Health experts are saying that high temperatures and high humidity can exacerbate pre-existing medical conditions such as hypertension and heart, lung and kidney disorders.  

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA,  the heat index has reached dangerous levels in Mimaropa, Bicol and Western Visayas regions. 

Ordanes stated that It is imperative for senior citizens to take precautions to prevent heat-related illnesses and stay safe during hot periods.This requires a reliable power supply to ensure they can stay in an air-conditioned place, especially at times of the day when the temperature is at its peak. 

But with a thin power supply as seen when National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) issued red and yellow alerts in the past weeks, Ordanes said the government must ensure that there is enough capacity to power up senior citizens' homes to keep them cool. 

The high demand for power is exacerbated by the current El Niño weather, on top of the challenging situation of the recent forced outages that hit about 68 of our power plants. Forty-seven of these are fossil-fuel fed and 21 are hydro-electric. 

The country’s dire state of power situation is attributed to lack of sufficient capacity, particularly baseload power sources that can generate dependable power to consistently meet demand over 24 hours. 

“We are now in a situation in which our power supply is simply low and knotty to solve. The last thing we want to happen is for certain groups to hamper this administration and the private sector to solve the nation’s energy security,” Ordanes said. 

“Think of the more than 12 million senior citizens who will be affected if the country continues to have an acute power supply,” he noted. 

The country has a total installed capacity of around 28,297 megawatts (MW) as of June 2023, while peak demand was estimated at 17,000 MW. Another 8,000 MW in additional power generation capacity is needed to meet the anticipated 25,000 MW peak demand in 2028. 

Ordanes called on the energy industry players to act now and make sure new capacities are coming on stream to ensure supply sufficiency not just this year, but also in the future as demand is expected to continue going up. 

“It is of the best interest of consumers that include many senior citizens if new power projects will be developed as soon as possible,” he concluded.