Press Release - Tulfo alarmed at PH power supply woes, pushes for Senate investigation

Senator Idol Raffy Tulfo filed a Senate Resolution (SR) seeking to investigate the alarming power supply issue hounding the nation.

Tulfo, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Energy, filed SR No. 1008 following the declaration of red and yellow alerts in the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids.

A Red Alert is issued when the power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid's regulating requirement, while a Yellow Alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid's contingency requirement.

"It is important to determine the cause of the insufficiency of power supply to meet consumer demand, including the cause of power plant outages and unscheduled shutdowns," he said.

As early as April 16, Tulfo already coordinated with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to ensure that the corporation, along with the Department of Energy (DOE), will strictly monitor the generation companies to avoid brownout.

Meanwhile, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), placing both Luzon and Visayas grids on red and yellow alerts has also caused market prices to increase from 5.55 pesos per kilowatt hour (kwh) to 13.39 pesos per kwh in Luzon, while the market price for Visayas went up from 5.73 pesos per kwh to 14.64 pesos per kwh.

"There is a need to ensure that the increases in the market prices should not be borne by the innocent consumers," he noted.

In filing the said resolution, Tulfo also underscores the need to ensure that proper measures and interventions are being undertaken and are to be undertaken by the relevant government agencies, generation companies, and other industry players to make sure that there is sufficient supply of power and to prevent nationwide rotational brownouts.

The hearing of the Senate Committee on Energy regarding said issue is scheduled on May 6.

Problema sa supply ng kuryente sa bansa, ikinaalarma ni Tulfo; imbestigasyon sa Senado nakakasa na

Naghain si Senator Idol Raffy Tulfo ng Senate Resolution (SR) na naglalayong imbestigahan ang lumalang isyu sa suplay ng kuryente sa bansa.

Si Tulfo, na Chairperson ng Senate Committee