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Friday, March 29, 2024

Power bills to rise with ‘strong, drier’ El Nino as DSWD vows to provide aid

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The expected El Niño weather phenomenon could reach “strong” intensity by the end of the year, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Wednesday.

The country may expect a “drier” El Niño, the weather agency said, adding that the El Niño will possibly develop in July, August, and September and might last until 2024.

Making things worse is the projected spike in Filipinos’ electricity bills as people use more power for their airconditioning and cooling devices, an industry spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) vowed to assist people who would be directly affected by the protracted dry spell.

In another development, the Department of Health reminded the public to cut down on hot coffee and alcoholic beverages to prevent dehydration during the El Niño months.

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In the PAGASA’s climate outlook forum on Wednesday, weather specialist Rusy Abastillas said there is a 41-percent chance that the El Niño phenomenon this year may be more intensive.

“For the strength of this El Niño event, shows that the probability for a weak to moderate El Niño is more than 50 percent, 87 percent that it would be weak, and 67 percent it would be moderate,” Abastillas said.

“But there is also a 41 percent chance that it may be strong by November-December-January. So there is still a chance it will be strong, but as of now, the probability is weak to moderate,” Abastilllas said. 

Meanwhile, Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines spokesperson Isidro Cacho said the industry knows that when the country experiences a heat wave, as it has in the last two weeks, cooling systems also kick into high gear.

This would lead to prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), the marketplace where power retailers and cooperatives get their additional supply, to spike in anticipation of the increased demand.

Cacho noted that leading power retailer Manila Electric Company bought a third, or 32 percent, of its power supply from WESM, thus consumers no doubt would feel a rise in market prices.

The last strong El Niño was in 2009-2010, which occurred after a La Niña phenomenon.

The 21st century’s first “triple-dip” La Niña or La Niña event that occurred for three consecutive years has only occurred from 2021 to 2023. This rare phenomenon also happened in 1973-1976 and 1998-2001, according to PAGASA.

PAGASA is expected update its “El Niño Watch” to “El Niño Alert” next month.

El Niño, or the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), is characterized by unusually warmer than average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific.

PAGASA said this climate phenomenon increases the possibility of below-normal rainfall, which may cause drought and dry spells, in some areas of the country.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian presided at a virtual meeting with the agency’s different field offices to check on the preparedness of the regional directors for El Nino.

Gatchalian called for the online briefing to ensure that funds and other relief items are prepositioned strategically in the DSWD warehouses for eventual distribution to the affected LGUs.

DSWD regional directors and other officers who attended the video conference affirmed their readiness for the expected dry spell.

Social Welfare and Development teams in the different regions have been placed on standby and were continuously coordinating with the LGUs to determine ways how to assist the affected farmers.

Currently, the DSWD central office, field officers, and the National Resource Operations Center have stockpiles of relief materials and standby funds amounting to more than ₱1.35 billion.

During a Kapihan session, DOH Health Promotion Bureau- Health Environment Division chief Dr. Rosalind Vianzon said the number one rule is to stay hydrated.

To do this, Vianzon advised the people to drink at least eight glasses of water every day and stay off beverages that could cause dehydration, such as alcohol.

“If it’s already hot and you always drink coffee, you will feel hotter. It is not forbidden, but we have to limit the intake of hot food, hot meals, hot drinks, and of course, alcohol,” she said.

Vianzon also cautioned against eating foods with too many spices.

“Spices are really considered to be causing dehydration and are not really recommended during hot months,” she said.

DOH Health Emergency Management Bureau’s Maria Belinda Evangelista pointed out that those with coconut milk and tomato are the ones that spoil the fastest, especially during this warm season.

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