By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
As part of comprehensive measures to keep Filipinos and the wheels of economy moving, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) procured 21,000 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from international markets that recently arrived in the Philippines.
The cargo, composed of 50% refrigerated propane and 50% refrigerated butane, is expected to augment the domestic LPG reserves and ensure that families have access to fuel that enables them to cook their meals and run their livelihoods.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said in a statement, “This shipment demonstrates the government’s commitment to staying ahead and protecting the welfare of our people through a secure and resilient energy sector.”
This energy milestone complements the administration’s proactive approach towards energy security, in compliance with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure that the citizenry has access to quality, affordable fuels even during these challenging times.
Meanwhile, the DOE said that it is looking forward to implementing further interventions to address the supply deficit in the Visayas grid.
Peak demand in the region has exceeded 2,700 MW, while available supply has dropped to as low as 2,244 MW. The supply shortfall is largely due to the outage of four major generating units: Therma Visayas Units 1 and 2, Panay Energy Development Corporation (PENDC) Unit 3, and KEPCO SPC Unit 2.
KEPCO SPC Unit 2 is expected to return to service on June 2, while PENDC Unit 3 is scheduled to resume operations on July 3. Therma Visayas Units 1 is expected to return by August 30, and Unit 2 will return on August 22.
Among the measures being tapped by the agency include the deployment of power barges, modular diesel generating units, and battery energy storage systems (BESS).
A 30 MW BESS facility in Mactan, Cebu is currently undergoing final testing and commissioning, while negotiations are underway for at least 20 MW of modular diesel generation capacity.
The Visayas grid has also benefited from the recent addition of two renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of 68.99 MW.
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