The Central Negros Electric Cooperative yesterday appealed to its consumers to conserve power during peak hours, between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., after the National Transmission Corp. failed to assure the coop that load-shedding will stop after April 23.

April 23 is the scheduled date of the completion of the maintenance works on the Unit 3 of Palinpinon Geothermal Power Plant in Oriental Negros. The defective generation unit is the reason for the frequent brownouts, due to load shedding, experienced by CENECO consumers since last month.

“I would like to appeal to the consumers, (to) reduce use of electricity, especially during  peak hours to help the cooperative avoid load shedding,” CENECO president Roberto Montelibano said in a press conference at the CENECO Boardroom yesterday. 

CENECO schedules load shedding, or cuts off power supply on certain lines based on request of TRANSCO. This happens when the demand for power becomes greater than the supply, and is being done to avoid blackouts because a planned and controlled load rotation will allow the electricity system to remain stable, he said.

Montelibano also said CENECO is facing power shortage on a hourly basis – from five to 25 megawatts – in recent weeks because of unstable power supply from the National Power Corp. Its current peak load is 105 megawatts.   

Roel Venus, head of the Cooperation Promotions Section, said load shedding will continue on a rotation scheme, between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. or 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

If TRANSCO informs CENECO of a 15-megawatt shortage, brownouts are scheduled for an hour in affected areas. Thirty-minute brownouts occur if there is a shortage of 15 megawatts.    

Venus said that, based on their meeting with local TRANSCO officials yesterday, there is no assurance that brownouts will stop after April 23 because the repair of the two other units of the  Palinpinon Geothermal Power Plant might also follow.

Montelibano said he has requested for a meeting with TRANSCO and NPC officials to discuss the real power supply situation.

He said they will not know unless NPC tells them the facts.

Montelibano also said that if Northern Negros Geothermal Power Plant would only produce its maximum 49-MW capacity, CENECO could also source electricity from the PNOC-Energy Development Corp. But as it is, it only produces four to five megawatts and will only be able to produce more electricity if PNOC-EDC will be allowed to dig wells inside the buffer zone of Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park, he said.

Last month, CENECO signed a power supply agreement with First Farmers Holding Corp. in Talisay City  for the purchase of five megawatts of bagasse power from the sugar mill starting October this year.*NLG

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