The Department of Energy will consult stakeholders on the possible restoration of dump power rates when excess power from the island’s hydroelectric power plants becomes available.
This arose after DOE Undersecretary Benito L. Ranque paid a spot visit to the Pulangui IV hydroelectric plant in Maramag, Bukidnon last Tuesday, 13 September 2016.
“I found out that the plant has been forced on occasion to dump water without producing electricity since it has been relegated as an ancillary reserve by the grid operator,” Ranque told participants of the round table discussion on the development of a Social Development Framework for the Energy Sector hosted by the First Bukidnon Electric Cooperative Incorporated (FIBECO) on the same date.
DOE USec Benito L. Ranque with Balay Mindanaw Chair Charlito Manlupig during a spot visit to the Pulangi 4 HEP at Maramag, Bukidnon 13 Sept 2016
The energy executive said he learned that even if Pulangui IV had a much higher available capacity to deliver beyond what was required by NGCP as ancillary reserve, the system operator dispatcher of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) based in Iligan invariably dispatched a smaller capacity than what the plant was capable of for that day, so Pulagui IV frequently had to dump water without passing through its turbines to produce what should have been cheaper electricity for Mindanao power users.
“Sometimes we had to dump water as frequently as two to three times a week without passing them through the turbines,” a plant personnel who requested anonymity disclosed.
Until the early 1990s, the Mindanao Grid then operated by the National Power Corporation (Napocor, now taken over by the Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management Corporation or PSALM) offered “dump power” rates when there was more water available from the Agus and Pulangui River than could be accommodated by the Agus and Pulangui hydroelectric power complex.
DOE Usec Benito L. Ranque conducts a spot visit to Pulangi 4 HEP 13 Sept 2016
“It was practiced before when there was too much water in Lake Lanao and Pulangui River,” said a senior energy executive who requested anonymity. “They just apply for additional loads and they were billed at only 50 percent of the current generation rate.”
The availability of dump power rates enabled manufacturing firms to operate additional shifts to produce more goods and gain economies of scale, he added.
“It’s unfortunate this is happening when many of Mindanao’s sitios remain without electricity even if all municipalities have already been reported as electrified under parameters set by the National Electrification Administration,” Ranque noted.
The NEA is an attached agency of the DOE under Ranque’s direct supervision charged with implementing the country’s rural electrification program.
Should the Energy Regulatory Commission be amendable to restoring dump power rates under these circumstances, Ranque said DOE will encourage private distribution utilities like Cepalco, Davao Light and Cotabato Light as well as rural electric cooperatives like FIBECO and MORESCO I & II to avail of it provided the cheaper electricity accessed was made available for the poor who still cannot afford to avail of electricity.
The Pulangui IV power plant has three turbines rated at 85 megawatts (MW) each for a total output of 255MW. However, Ranque learned it was constrained by the orders of the systems operator dispatcher to dispatch a much lower amount than what the plant was nominating (i.e., informing them of the capacity available for electricity production for the day).
Although it was the last of Mindanao’s hydroelectric plants to be commissioned (the last unit being commissioned in June 21, 1986), it still only costs P1.50 to produce a megawatt of electricity, compared to as much as P5.18/MW produced by the FDC Misamis Coal plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental and the Mt. Apo Geothermal whose output the same company now markets at P5.18/MW.
Distribution utilities buying power from the hydroelectric plants in the Agus-Pulangui hydroelectric power complex and its remaining thermal power plants now operated by the Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation only pay P2.87/KW.
Ranque said he will definitely ask the PSALM and NGCP to explain why it was allowing Pulangi IV to dump water without generating power when thousands of poor households in Mindanao continue to be denied the benefits of electricity.
“The DOE should direct the NGCP to formulate generating plant dispatch procedures that would minimize the waste of electric energy from Pulangi IV,” said Engr. David A. Tauli, president of the Mindanao Coalition of Power Consumers, who was one of the RTD participants. “The personnel of Pulangi IV could then monitor how Pulangi IV is dispatched, and the NGCP could be penalized whenever it wastes the energy from the hydropower plant.”
David A. Tauli, president of the Mindanao Coalition of Power Consumers
Tauli said the Grid Code section on Dispatch Operations only covers general principles, but not exceptions to the general rule, such as not dispatching in order to keep a hydro plant as ancillary reserve.
“The general rule in dispatching is that the lowest cost generator must be dispatched first, but this is clearly being violated in the case of Pulangi IV,” Tauli said. “The need for ancillary services is being used by NGCP as the reason for not dispatching Pulangui IV. We need to get the NGCP to specify in detail the dispatching procedures for Pulangui IV so that its potential for generation is not wasted. They will also have to specify how PSALM can be compensated when Pulangui IV is used as ancillary reserve.” (Social Development Advocates for the Energy Sector)
-30-