Siquijor: Power supply issues in Siquijor and Camotes Island have been traced to the distribution system and generation capacities, which an official of the Department of Energy (DOE) said are now being addressed. In a briefing on Wednesday, Energy Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan, who personally visited Siquijor, said that as a short-term solution, they are monitoring daily fuel supply in both areas to ensure that it is adequate to meet energy demand.
According to Philippines News Agency, it was discovered that power plants in Siquijor alone are under repair and preventive maintenance, and are undergoing installation process. Marasigan said that while supply is currently sufficient, there are also administrative requirements that power suppliers need to meet, such as securing clearance and certificate of compliance for the facilities and generating units, as well as a provisional authority from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Marasigan explained that due to the limitation of generating facilities, the distribution facilities in Siquijor are all lateral systems. This means that adjustments on the capacity of a specific load center cannot automatically be done once there is an imbalance. He noted that manual intervention is necessary to address these imbalances.
The DOE is also working on a looping configuration for the system, which is now in the pipeline pending budgetary approval requirements of the Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative (PROSIELCO).
For Camotes Islands, Marasigan mentioned that the power supply is adequate but cannot be delivered to the end-users due to insufficient capacity. The generating units are under repair, and the back-up systems do not meet regulatory standards. The Camotes Electric Cooperative (CELCO) is implementing a three-phase program to improve distribution facilities, use insulated wires, and upgrade to a three-phase distribution system instead of the current single-phase system.
Marasigan also highlighted the potential of facilitating the testing and commissioning of a 600-kilowatt solar energy generation facility, referring to a private sector-initiated floating solar facility in Lake Danao.
