ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 17, 2010) – The local electric cooperative on Friday announced an eight-hour blackout in several areas to allow maintenance work on a 69 kilovolt line in Zamboanga City in Mindanao.
Reinerio Ramos, general manager of the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative, said the power interruption would start at 8 a.m. on Sunday and would end at 5 p.m. in areas which draw electricity from the San Roque powerhouse.
He said the repair is necessary and maintenance workers would replace an old wooden pole of Structure No. 6. “The shut-off schedule will also give ample time for the replacement of broken insulators on Structures Nos. 13 and 16 and the armoring of conductor between Structures No. 1 and 2,” Ramos said.
He said the work is part of regular transmission line maintenance for this year which is being undertaken by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
“Please bear with us during this power interruption. This work is being done to upgrade the NGCP power system for safe energy delivery to our cooperative,” he said. (With a report from Jung Francisco)
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Zamboanga City villages brace for 8-hour blackout
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Zambo, ibang bahagi ng Mindanao, balot na naman ng blackout!
Ilan sa mga himpilan ng radio naman ay nagsabing nasira ang kanilang mga computers dahil sa blackout. Maging ang boltahe ng kuryente ay madalas bumaba sa 220 volts kung kaya’t lalong nadagdagan ang hinaing ng publiko dahil sa naapektuhang mga appliances.
Isang tanggapan naman ang nagsabi sa Abante na nasira ang baterya ng kanilang UPS o universal power supply dahil sa eratik na blackout at mababang kuryente mula sa Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative.
Sa ibang bahagi ng Mindanao ay 9 na oras naman ng blackout ang inanunsyo ng National Grid Corporation of the Philippines upang maayos diumano ang daloy ng kuryente sa kahabaan ng Maramag-Kibawa 138-kilovolt transmission sa lalawigan ng Bukidnon.
Saklaw nito ang buong lalawigan ng Cotabato, Davao, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat at katabing mga lugar.
Nitong taon lamang ay napeste ng ilang buwan ang malaking bahagi ng Mindanao, kasama ang Zamboanga City sa 9 na oras na rotational blackout dahil sa kakulangan ng kuryente sa rehiyon. (Mindanao Examiner)
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Philippine Energy Efficient Project pipped in Mindanao
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 1, 2010) – Manila has resumed the Philippine Energy Efficient Project or PEEP which aims to eliminate the use of incandescent bulbs and switch to compact fluorescent lamps as part of its National Residential Lighting Program.
As many as 68 million incandescent bulbs are believed being used in the country today, but the program aims to replace only 13 million of these bulbs. And 33 power cooperatives in Mindanao, including the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative have begun collecting incandescent bulbs and exchange them with compact fluorescent lamps.
The Department of Energy said the compact fluorescent lamp uses less electricity than incandescent bulb and due to its low power consumption, there is less pollution. It said a 60-watt incandescent bulb can be replaced with a 15-watt compact fluorescent lamp.
Up to six compact fluorescent lamps are being given to each consumer in exchange for their incandescent bulbs. However, only the most recent electric bill will be used as proof to entitle the consumers to claim their free compact fluorescent lamps.
But this early, the program is already laden with scandals, at least in Zamboanga City where the local cooperative has been reported selling 25-watt incandescent bulbs for 20 pesos each to consumers who then exchange them for free compact fluorescent lamps being offered by the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative.
The local prices of a 40-watt incandescent bulb range from 13 to 15 pesos each.
But under the National Residential Lighting Program, electric cooperatives are not allowed to sell incandescent bulbs to consumers. It was the second time this year that the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative launched the program.
Reynerio Ramos, the general manager of the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative, said he was not aware of the selling of incandescent bulbs inside the premises of the firm.
“Let me check about this. I am not aware of it,” Ramos said.
The electric cooperatives and private distribution utilities were also briefed in July this year in Mindanao about the program to ensure that Clean Development Mechanism rules will be followed not only during distribution of compact fluorescent lamps and proper disposal of incandescent bulbs.
The briefing provided step-by-step procedures on how to implement and record, and monitor the distribution of compact fluorescent lamps.
Scores of consumers have flocked to the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative to buy the bulbs and exchange them with fluorescent lamps so they can avail of the free government offer.
“Somebody is making a killing out of this program. Somebody is benefiting from this business,” said one consumer who purchased a dozen incandescent bulbs in the local cooperative and exchanged them for free compact fluorescent lamps.
Another consumer said he was able to buy six incandescent bulbs at the cooperative for 120 pesos and exchanged them with six compact fluorescent lamps and was contemplating of selling it to his neighbors for 75 pesos each.
Just this year, the Zamboanga City Cooperative was criticized for its purchase of brand new vehicles and luxury cars for its executives despite its huge debts and inefficient services.
The compact fluorescent lamps being distributed by the government is not for sale and the Department of Energy even printed on its boxes a telephone hotline number 02-82402267 where consumers can inquire about the program. The boxes also contained the picture of former President Gloria Arroyo, who first launched the program last year.
The project is worth over $31 million, mostly grant from the Asian Development Bank.
The government project intends to seek carbon credits under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Through this mechanism, developing countries, such as the Philippines, can host projects that reduce greenhouse gases and help achieve the country’s sustainable development objectives.
The Department of Energy said PEEP is a project that will pay for itself through savings in terms of reduced energy consumption, reduced fuel importation, deferred power capacity addition and additional earnings due to trading of carbon reduction emissions. It said the government resources can very well be allocated to other priority programs.(Mindanao Examiner)
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Indebted Zamboanga power firm buys luxury vehicles, band equipment
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 15, 2010) – Heavily indebted Zamboanga City’s electric cooperative has been the center of controversy again after it purchased band equipment worth more than one million pesos.
The Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative said the equipment would be used for important occasions. The purchased of the band equipment surfaced after a citizen phoned the local radio station dxRZ to inform them about the deal.
Just recently, the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative borrowed money from local banks to purchase millions of pesos worth of utility and luxury vehicles for its managers and workers. It said the purchases were approved by the cooperative’s board of directors.
The purchases of the vehicles were publicly known after citizens also contacted the dxRZ and provided information about it. The radio station reported that the local electric cooperative had purchased at least 36 vehicles, mostly from the Korean car maker Kia Motors.
It was unknown whether Kia Motors gave out commissions for the purchases. It was unclear why the cooperative’s board of directors approved the purchases of the band equipment and luxury vehicles despite its ballooning debts which is now more than one billion pesos.
“There is clearly mismanagement here by the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative,” said Cesar Jimenez Jr., a member of the Zamboanga City Council, who is among several lawmakers that questioned the extravagant spending of the power firm.
Prior to that, the electric cooperative said it was planning to lease modular generator sets to augment power requirements of Zamboanga City, which in recent months had experienced rotational blackout as long as six hours a day due to low water levels in hydropower plants in Mindanao which supply electricity here.
But the situation now has improved drastically because of the end of the dry season.
Despite this, the electric cooperative now said there is a need to put up a coal-fired power plant in Zamboanga City.
On Tuesday, the power firm said it would increase rates after the local government charged the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative new taxes worth millions of pesos. It said it would pass on to consumers the money it paid to City Hall.
Electric consumers have complained about the high cost of power rates the local cooperatives are charging. Others have asked the National Electrification Administration to investigate the purchases and other dealings of the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative. (Mindanao Examiner)
Friday, April 23, 2010
Zamboanga residents oppose hike in power rates
Workers from the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative fix a line in the village of Tumaga. Residents have strongly opposed proposals by the local electric cooperative to hike power rates to be able to pay at least 20 modular generators it plans to lease to augment electricity demand in Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)Representatives from the business sector also opposed the hike and told a public hearing by the Energy Regulatory Commission here that raising power rates could make it more difficult for consumers to pay.
The electric cooperative said it plans to lease at least 20 modular generators to augment power supply in Zamboanga City. Those opposed to the proposal to hike power rates said if the lease of the modular generator sets pushes through, consumers will have to pay additional P3 pesos per kilowatt hour in the next 18 months.
The Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative is currently charging its residential consumers P5.94 per kilowatt hour and P5.41 on commercial consumers while industrial consumers are paying P5.50 per kilowatt hour.
Zamboanga is experiencing as much as 6 hours of blackout every day the past months because of low water levels in hydro power plants in Mindanao supplying electricity to many areas in the region.
A local newspaper on Friday also quoted Reynerio Ramos, the manager of the local electric cooperative, as saying that if their proposal to lease modular generators is disapproved by the Energy Regulatory Commission then the power outages will continue until 2016.
But many residents are opposing the proposed hike and would rather wait until power supply returns to normal.
Betty Marquez, a spokeswoman for the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative, earlier said there is also a plan to put up a coal-fired power plant to augment the increasing power requirement in Zamboanga City.
Marquez said the daily power consumption of Zamboanga City is about 78 megawatts and at present the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines is supplying only half of the total requirements of the local electric cooperative because of the El Nino weather phenomenon which is affecting the whole country.
El Nino is associated with floods, droughts and other weather disturbances in many regions of the world, which vary with each event. The Philippines like any other developing countries dependent upon agriculture and fishing, particularly those bordering the Pacific Ocean, are the most affected.
Marquez said the low water level at Lake Lanao is also aggravating the supply of electricity in Mindanao because it affects the hydropower plant in Iligan City.
Of Zamboanga City’s 98 villages, at least 90 percent have rotational blackout lasting from one hour to as long as six hours every day from the previous two hours.
Marquez said the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines which supplies electricity simply cannot cope up with the power demands in Mindanao. President Gloria Arroyo last month declared a power crisis in Mindanao.
Many commercial establishments, including smaller stores and private offices, in Zamboanga City also resorted in buying its own gasoline or diesel generators whose prices ranged from P5,000 to P500,000.
Some local politicians and residents were also urging the local government to provide funding for the generators.
Zamboanga has more than P2 billion in banks and officials were boasting the huge amount was the result of a good fiscal management, a view strongly opposed by politicians who said the money should have been spent on important projects such as the city’s integrated bus terminal, health centers and electrification and potable water system for far-flung villages. (Mindanao Examiner)
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Zamboanga plans to put up fossil-fuel power station
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 18, 2010) – The local electric cooperative said Thursday there is a plan to put up a coal-fired power plant to augment the increasing power requirement in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.
Betty Marquez, a spokeswoman for the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative, said there are proposals to put up a fossil-fuel power station here because of the increased demand for electricity.
“There is a need to have an alternative source of electric power,” she told the Mindanao Examiner.
Coal-fired units produce electricity by burning coal in a boiler to heat water to produce steam. The steam, at tremendous pressure, flows into a turbine, which spins a generator to produce electricity. The steam is cooled, condensed back into water, and returned to the boiler to start the process over. But environmentalists say the coal-fueled plants will pollute the air and contribute to global warming.
There are at least 9 coal-fired power plants in the country – six in Luzon Island, two in the Visayas in central Philippines and one in Mindanao in the southern Philippines.
Marquez said the daily power consumption of Zamboanga City is about 78 megawatts and at present the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines has been supplying only half of the total requirements of the local electric cooperative because of the El Nino weather phenomenon which is affecting the whole country.
“The El Nino is really affecting us all, not only the local electric cooperative, but many power providers, and even the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines which is supplying at least eight others electric cooperatives in Mindanao,” Marquez said.
The abnormal weather pattern also called El Nino-Southern Oscillation occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean on average every five years, but over a period which varies from three to seven years. El Nino is associated with floods, droughts and other weather disturbances in many regions of the world, which vary with each event.
The Philippines like any other developing countries dependent upon agriculture and fishing, particularly those bordering the Pacific Ocean, are the most affected.
Marquez said the low water level at Lake Lanao is also aggravating the supply of electricity in Mindanao because it affects the hydropower plant in Iligan City.
“Right now, all we can say to everybody is to conserve electricity and wait for the rains to come,” she said, adding, the dry spell is expected to last until June.
Of Zamboanga City’s 98 villages, at least 90 percent have rotational blackout lasting from one hour to as long as two hours every day, she said.
“The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines simply cannot cope up with the power demands,” Marquez said.
Incorporated in 2008, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines won in the bidding for the franchise to operate and maintain the country’s transmission network - the National Transmission Corporation – the biggest government auction conducted in efforts to reform the local power sector.
The fifty-year franchise provides National Grid Corporation of the Philippines with the right to operate, maintain, expand and further develop the country’s power transmission system which as of end-2008 involved 19,778 circuit kilometers of transmission lines and 24,214 MVA of substation capacity.
As the system operator of the power grid, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines balances the demand and supply of electricity to efficiently serve all of its customers which include generators, private distribution utilities, electric cooperatives, government-owned utilities, economic zones, industries, and directly connected companies. (Mindanao Examiner)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Zamboanga street pole falls, workers rush repair to restore power
Workers rush to fix a fallen electrical post on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 in Zamboanga City in Mindanao. Electricity has been cut off in some areas in downtown Zamboanga, says The wooden post broke and damaged three other electrical posts near the Port of Zamboanga, said Betty Marquez, of the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative.
“We still don’t know why the pole broke, but it’s kind of old already. Workers are rushing up the repair so we can restore power in the area soon,” she told the Mindanao Examiner.
No was hurt when the pole fell, but Marquez said the electric cooperative will have to cope with the huge expenses brought about by the damages and the effects of it from their operations.
“The damages are really huge on our part. We have to replace or repair the fallen post and the three other damaged poles,” she said.
Several commercial banks nearby were also affected by the black out. (Mindanao Examiner)
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Ex-Village Chieftain Shot In Zamboanga City
“We are still investigating the shooting,” said police investigator Anwar Salingkala.
Salingkala said policemen recovered empty shells of .45-caliber pistol from the scene.
Gregorio is currently a member of the board of the local electric cooperative. It was unknown if the shooting was connected to his job or not. (Erico Rosco)