DAVAO CITY – A power shortage may happen in Mindanao in five years if no new power plants are constructed to shore up the grid’s supply to meet the growing requirement for electricity, Rodger Velasco, president of Davao Light and Power Co. (DLPC), said.

Velasco said that the power sector in Mindanao feared that the island may suffer from shortage again in the absence of new investors putting up baseload plants here.

“We feel that Mindanao – we will now again be short of power in the next, probably in five years’ time or earlier, depending on how fast we grow,” he said.

Velasco said that power demand in Mindanao was estimated at an average of 2,100 megawatts (MW), which is higher compared with the average ranging from 1,500 MW to 1,600 MW before the coronavirus disease pandemic.

According to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, Miindanao’s available generating capacity as of 1 p.m. on July 4 was estimated at 2,975 MW while its peak demand was at 2,394 MW, leaving a surplus of 591 MW.

“There is a shortage coming so together we should attract investors to put up their base load plants – peaking plants and renewable energy plants – so that it can support the power needs of Mindanao,” Velasco said.

He added that the new investors should invest in the construction of new plants, including renewable energy, to cope with the rising demand and to prevent the anticipated power shortage.

Velasco said that construction of the new plant will take about three years and another two years to secure permits from the government.

“The goal is to have new investors because if there are no new players, a shortage will really happen. For Davao Light, we cannot put up our own plant because we are prohibited under RA 9136 or EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act). What we can do is to attract investors. What we can do is to contract with willing investors,” he added.

Velasco said the island needs “solid baseload” power plants.

He said geothermal is a good source of renewable energy but it is “expensive and very risky to invest.”

“It’s very risky to invest (in geothermal) because you may dig up well but it may not be of good quality steam that can produce electricity.”

Velasco said there should be more power plants supplying electricity to Mindanao grid because it will bring down the cost of power in Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) where market prices are influenced by law of supply and demand.

“If there are so many supplies, prices will be depressed but if there are so many demands but lower supply, prices will go up,” he added.