DAPA, Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte (MindaNews/21 May) –To have a stable power supply island-wide, the lone power utility here is now seeking a 3-megawatt modular generation set.
Engr. Sergio Dagooc, general manager of Siargao Electric Cooperative Inc., (SIARELCO) Inc., said they need the power generation set to address the problem of power deficiency.
Dagooc said Siargao Island has 25,000 member-consumers and have a total power demand of 4-MW.
BOUNTY FROM THE SEA. A fisherman checks the dried squid on the shore of General Luna town in Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte. Residents in Siargao Island are hoping the problem of power supply defiency be addressed so there will be less brownouts. MindaNews file photo by ROEL CATOTO
Siarelco is being powered by a lone power supplier from the National Power Corporation-Power Sector Assets Liabilities Management Corporation which is currently supplying at least 1.8-MW.
To realize the acquisition of power generation sets, Dagooc said the management will use the Malampaya Fund, which has to be approved by the National Electrification Administration.
Dagooc, President of the Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives Inc., (AMRECO) said that by second quarter next year, Siargao will have 2-MW from the 330-MW supply to be shared among AMRECO members through its Power Supply Aggregation Group (PSAG) Corporation, a business arm of AMRECO.
He said the 2-MW will be available upon the completion of the coal-fired power plant of GNPower Kauswagan, in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte which is scheduled for commissioning and eventually commercial operations by the second quarter next year.
Aside from this, Siarelco is seeking a 1-megawatt power supply deal with San Miguel Corporation.
“Last Tuesday there was an evidentiary hearing with Energy Regulatory Commission in Dapa to materialize all these plans,” Dagooc told MindaNews.
Residents have been pushing for a steady supply of power in the island.
“We experience frequent brownouts here due power deficit,” said Ben Dumagtoy, a resident of Dapa town.
Residents in the tourist town of General Luna are also suffering from brownouts.
Juvy Meras said power interruptions are not scheduled and tourists are also complaining. “How many parties and nightly activities have been marred by the brownouts,” she said. (Roel N. Catoto / MindaNews)