DAVAO Light and Power Co. announced it is preparing to reactivate the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) over potential power supply shortfalls during El Niño periods to augment supply.
Henriczar Tia, Davao Light president and general manager, said this during the panel discussion at the Power Forward Mindanao forum on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at Aria Hotel here.
Tia reassured consumers that the distribution utility is proactive in managing grid demand.
Through the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) Performance-Based Regulation framework and the implementation of the ILP, major commercial establishments like shopping malls and manufacturing facilities can temporarily disconnect from the grid and run on self-generation sets during peak demand or supply deficits.
In Davao Light’s franchise area alone, approximately 60 megawatts are available for ILP capacity.
“So right now, I think we have an idle total of 60 megawatts, so that should be, that’s around 15% to 20% of the demand,” he said.
This represents 15% to 20% of Davao Light’s peak demand, which can be mobilized to cushion the grid against tight supply.
The ERC established the rules for the implementation of the ILP in 2010, which were subsequently amended in 2019.
Under the ILP, companies that are willing to participate will be requested to reduce their demand for particular hours in a day when the power supply in the system is not enough.
During a power crisis, the participating companies in the ILP run their own generating sets instead of drawing power from the distribution system. The excess power generated from the program will be redistributed to smaller residential and commercial customers.
The company estimated that around 4,000 customers will be spared from the rotating power outage for every 1 MW of power that is unused by large companies.
Tia stressed that “nothing to worry about for now,” as there is enough supply to meet the demand of its consumers.
