Gatchalian warns against brownouts

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday expressed concern of the possibility of brownouts during the dry months amid the anticipated increase in demand.

“We know that as early as now that there is a possibility of brownouts during the summer. That’s why we are calling on the Department of Energy to prepare contingency measures to lessen, if we cannot eliminate brownouts during summer,” Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, said.

Gatchalian also urged the DOE to discuss outage schedule and reliability of plants to address any grid disturbances or avert future incidence of rotational brownouts in the country.

He also called on the DOE to make full use of the Energy Virtual One Stop Shop (EVOSS) Law and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Law to ensure adequate power supply in anticipation of a high demand during the dry season.