A congressional leader on Wednesday has asked the Department of Energy to ensure sufficient power supply in the summer especially during the May elections.
Deputy Majority Leader and Rizal Rep. Fidel Nograles made the statement as the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) forecasted thin energy supply during the dry season due to increased demand, possibly affecting the national elections.
According to Nograles, “We should do everything to prevent outages especially during the elections. We do not want the credibility of the May 2022 elections to suffer just because we can’t solve brownouts.”
Nograles also suggested that in case power plants need to do preventive maintenance, the schedule must be coordinated with the DOE to ensure that they will not be offline simultaneously.
Nograles added: “For years, this has been happening and I don’t understand why we have not seen how to solve this annual problem of summer power outages.”
He also proposed that the DOE also look into tapping renewable energy solutions as a stop-gap measure.
“I think there are solar power systems that can be easily installed in communities. I have heard of NGOs doing it, why can’t the DOE do it? This may even be the answer to our long-elusive target of 100 percent electrification,” he said. Maricel V. Cruz
