The Department of Energy has assured there will be uninterrupted power supply during the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) while power demand is likely to go down again due to the closure of businesses.
“The power sector will continue to quietly work providing uninterrupted supply of power and petroleum products to run economy and country,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said Monday.
Cusi urged the public to strictly follow the MECQ rules.
“Nobody is safe until we make our environment safe. For once, let us all stop complaining and let’s all sacrifice a little more in our fight against COVID,” the energy chief said.
Meanwhile, Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) chief operating officer Robinson Descanzo said there is no simulation yet on the effect to power demand during the MECQ but expects demand to go down in August due to the cooler temperatures.
“Based on the actual, even before the revert to MECQ, demand has gone down because of the rainy and cooler period,” Descanzo said.
He said peak demand has been steadily increasing to 12,444 MW in July from 12,611MW in June and 11,567MW in May.
“So during the rainy season, demand goes down and there is a possibility that demand is lower for August compared to July,” the IEMOP official said.
Peak demand for August last year reached 12,653MW compared to 13,040MW in July last year.
“The return to MECQ most likely will affect demand, going downwards,” he said.
In terms of prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the country’s trading floor of electricity, average rates in July reached P2.09 per kilowatt-hour from P3.25 per kWh in June.
Last year, settlement rates at the WESM averaged at P3 per kWh for August, P4.99 per kWh for July and P8.38 per kWh in June.