The power supply woes affecting the island of Siquijor has apparently reached the Department of Energy (DOE).
Days after a state of calamity was declared in the province for recurring blackouts, the DOE acknowledged that there is an urgent need for coordinated and sustained action to address the island’s worsening power outage that lasts four to six hours a day.
Even before the declaration of the state of calamity, the DOE said it had conducted site inspection and coordination meeting from May 6 to 7, where it was confirmed that technical, operational, and regulatory problems have been hampering the delivery of reliable electricity in Siquijor.
The agency noted that the Siquijor Island Power Corp. (Sipcor) has an installed capacity of 11.580 megawatts (MW) but only 8.816 MW is currently contracted to the Provincial Electric Cooperative of Siquijor (Prosielco).
The island’s power demand has already reached 10.51 MW and the supply gap has led to daily outage brownouts in most parts of the province.
Gov. Jake Vincent Villa announced the declaration of a state of calamity in the province on June 5. The declaration was unanimously approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan during its regular session on June 3.
Villa said that since the island is off-grid, the island suffered daily blackout for more than a month now after six generators operated by Sipcor bogged down.
Placing the province under a state of calamity will allow the local government to release funds to rent two generators, Villa said.
The governor added that the daily blackouts lasting up to almost six hours have severely affected customer service satisfaction, which is very crucial since the province is a prime tourist destination.
Villar revealed that the province recorded 1.4 million tourist arrivals last year.
To address the shortage of power supply, the DOE has recommended that Prosielco, under the National Electrification Administration's (NEA) guidance, to update its Power Supply Procurement Plan and Distribution Development Plan to expedite the procurement of additional power.
To provide instant remedy, NEA has arranged for a two-megawatt modular generator from Palawan to be deployed to Siquijor by mid-June.
In a May 28 letter, Prosielco expressed “grave frustration” with SIPCOR’s performance, accusing the company of “brazen disregard” for the welfare of Siquijodnons.
The DOE said it will continue to work closely with concerned agencies and local officials to implement both short- and long-term solutions.
“The DOE remains committed to ensuring a stable, reliable, and sufficient power supply for the residents of Siquijor,” it said.