The Aquino administration is having a hard time addressing the power shortage in Mindanao weeks after the region was hit by a massive blackout on February 27.
The palace pointed to the breakdown in the German Steag coal-fired power plant in Misamis Oriental as hampering government efforts in restoring electricity in many parts of Mindanao after two hydroelectric plants elsewhere tripped.
“There is really a tight power supply in Mindanao. If the Steag facility were operational, we would even have a little surplus. But the Steag broke down so it has become difficult for us to meet the demand,” Coloma pointed out over Radyo ng Bayan.
The shortage has been pegged at 158 megawatts.
Coloma said the government was repairing the Steag plant and other hydroelectric plants, adding that the efforts include identifying the areas with supply shortage and those with extra supply that could fill the gap.
”We don’t take the situation as it is. This is not business as usual. We deal with this with great sense of urgency and we are looking for ways to address this. The approach is very dynamic and the Department of Energy is monitoring the situation every hour,” he said.
“What we need is for us to help one another in this challenge and save electricity to address the situation,” Coloma added.