Power supplier S.I. Power Corp. (SIPCOR) on Tuesday said it is implementing corrective measures to resolve the power supply challenges in the province of Siquijor, one of the country’s fast-growing tourist areas.
SIPCOR said in statement corrective maintenance for one of its service units has been completed as of June 9, resulting in an increase of 7,550 kW (kilowatt) to the total operating capacity of the plant.
SIPCOR suppliers power the Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative (PROSIELCO), the power distributor of the province.
It said another unit is also undergoing evaluation and assessment for corrective maintenance and is expected to be completed by the middle of the week.
SIPCOR said that while this repair is ongoing, an additional genset has also been rented to cover the supply shortage and to have the power gradually restored within the week.
“With the increasing demand brought on by the growing economic activity and rising population in the province, the area is currently experiencing a power supply deficit resulting in a rotational power outage,” the company said.
“We understand the inconvenience this may cause and we assure our customers that our technical teams are working diligently to restore power as quickly and safely as possible…Rest assured that we are exerting all our efforts to restore full power in the province as swiftly as possible. This matter is our top priority and we remain fully committed to ensuring the delivery of a steady and reliable power supply in all our served areas,” it said.
Siquijor was recently placed under state of calamity due to prolonged brownouts.
According to the assessment by the Department of Energy and other agencies recently, it was determined that a combination of technical, operational, and regulatory issues is preventing the full utilization of SIPCOR’s generating capacity.
Although SIPCOR has an installed capacity of 11.580 MW, only 8.816 MW is currently contracted to the PROSIELCO.
The DOE said these limitations have contributed to recurring power interruptions, exposing a gap between the available supply and the actual demand in the province which already reached 10.51 MW.
“The findings underscore the urgent need to increase power supply, either by fully utilizing SIPCOR’s installed capacity or by sourcing additional generation from other potential providers,” the agency said.
Alena Mae S. Flores