On February 27, 2014, at around 3 a.m., the whole island of
Mindanao was swept by a massive unannounced brownout that lasted for
hours.
The circuit breaker of Agus I hydroelectric power plant in
Baloi, Lanao del Norte, accordingly, tripped, causing power outage that
cascaded to Agus 2 and to the other four power plants along the Agus
River. The other power generators in the
National Power Corporation (NPC) Network, to include that of the Pulangi River
hydropower plant in Maramag, Bukidnon, and the German coal-fired Steag State
Power plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, subsequently tripped, too, and
went offline. The tripping phenomenon damaged a number of power generators and
depleted to very low level the supply of energy.
From then on, the power situation of the entire island has
not returned to normal. To date, many of the power generators within the NPC power
complex are still undergoing repairs and thus are unable to operate fully. This
accounts for the deficit of some 300 MW of electric supply in the entire
island. Thus, a punishing rotational brownout that lasts from 7 – 10 hours a
day is now experienced everywhere. Needless to say, the power outage has
inconvenienced everyone. It is hurting business most, causing a loss estimated
at P30M/hour.
But as to what really caused the mother of all brownouts on
February 27, 2014, no one until now has a categorical explanation.
Some old theories in previous years’ brownouts were again
circulating to explain things. One explanation that has angered many is that
the current power situation is artificially designed to spike the power privatization
plan of government. Related to this is the nagging suspicion that the long power
outage is a machination to advance the interest and profits of private power
players.
There was also this claim that the Mindanao-wide brownout
resulted from the toppling of a tower of a major power distribution line in
Abaga, Baloi, Lanao del Norte. The
military shrugged this off. The NPC asserted, on the other hand, that there was no sabotage of any kind; what
happened was just, accordingly, a technical glitch and that everything will
return to normal in due time.
But even a technical problem could be triggered by something.
And what is normal for years in the Mindanao power situation is the endless
recurring brownout.
Indeed, the yearly recurring brownouts have already become a
part of our life in Mindanao. These brownouts are predictably occurring in the
summer season, a fact which apparently escapes the attention, or is taken for
granted by critics. It is obvious that
the hot blistering weather has something to do with it, particularly to the
physical condition of Lake Lanao, the main source of water that runs the power
generators of the Agus Hydropower Plant Complex, the primary power producer in
Mindanao.
The
Agus Hydropower Plant Complex has six cascading power plants that snake from
the mouth of Lake Lanao in Marawi City down to Maria Cristina Falls in Iligan
City. The cascading design for this power complex was intended to make an
efficient use of the water resource from the Lake. In this set-up, water used
by the upstream power plants is reused by those downstream.
The six
hydroelectric power plants along Agus River have a total power-generating capacity
of 700 MW supplying 40.31 percent of the current power needs in Mindanao.
However, most of the power plants are already antiquated. The oldest plant, Agus VI, with an aggregate
installed capacity of 200 MW, was built in 1953 during the time of President
Quirino. It is now 61 years old, a way past its 30 productive years. The newest
plant in the complex began operation in 1992.
Given its generally antiquated
infrastructure, the Agus power plant complex is susceptible to technical
glitches and is presumed to generate power far below its generating potential.
It was reported that the NPC will rehabilitate the two aged generators of Agus
VI. It would accordingly take 30 months to do it at a cost of P2.6B. The repair
may yet worsen the power supply in Mindanao if no compensatory move is made to
cover the curtailed supply.
It does not help that the Pulangi Hydropower
Plant in the NPC power network in Maramag, Bukidnon, could only deliver
electricity at 60 MW out of its installed 255 MW generating capacity after the
27 February 2014 power fiasco. Moreover, the Pulangi River is also drying up,
thanks to the unabated illegal logging in its watershed.
Meanwhile, the sorry technical condition of
the Agus power plants is aggravated by the diminished supply of water from Lake
Lanao. This gets worse in the summer months, and the prospect of el niῆo just frightens
everyone. Some power plants are forced to shut down every time the water in the
lake drops to critical low level to avoid damage to their hydroelectric
turbines. The advent of climate change and global warming may yet worsen the
lake situation not just in summer but year round.
Indeed, many observers have noted the declining
water level and discharge capacity of the lake over the years. This disturbing
phenomenon is attributed to uncontrolled timber poaching and the encroachment
of farming activities in the lake watershed. The illegal activities cause soil
erosion and corresponding siltation of the lake, affecting not just the operation
of the hydroelectric plants but the agriculture and other livelihoods along the
lake as well, and the way of life of the Meranao community.
Lake Lanao was declared by then President
Corazon Aquino as a watershed reservation in 26 February 1992 through
Presidential Proclamation 871 to ensure protection of forest cover and water
yield for the hydropower plants, irrigation and domestic use.
The proclamation was followed by Memorandum
Order 412 dated 25 March 1992 creating the Lake Lanao Watershed Protection and
Development Council to implement the proclamation, headed no less than the DENR
Secretary and with such members as the NPC President, MSU President, ARMM
Governor, and the Chair of the NGO, Save Lake Lanao Movement (SALAM), among
others. The only accomplishment, however, of the Council was in coming up with
the Lake Lanao Development Integrated Plan in 2003. It failed its mandate and
has not arrested the degradation of the Lake and its environs.
Lake Lanao faces a dry future. If nothing is
aggressively done to save and seriously protect the lake, Mindanao will
continue to grope in the dark in years to come.
