EVERY time a blackout occurs, Boholanos curse the darkness. They have cursed the darkness often and frustratingly hope for their leaders to act. That has been the cycle since 2013 – after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Bohol on October 15, 2013 and Yolanda bashed Leyte on Nov. 8, 2013, causing debilitating blackouts in my home province that lasted for weeks.
Six years after and you would think the Boholano leadership had acted on it! I have left and returned to my home province several times after 2013, and on Dec. 24, 2019, once more, a blackout hit Bohol because Ursula struck Leyte.
That kind of situation is no longer acceptable in this day and age, if you ask me. It smacks of lack of planning and preparation. It smacks of ineffectiveness.
Now let’s get to the facts.
Technical experts – my former power industry colleagues coming from the Visayas and Mindanao, had made presentations to the government leaders of Bohol and the Bohol Energy Development Advisory Group or BEDAG over the past couple of years explicitly pointing out the outcome should we not become power resilient by putting up our own embedded power plant.
Our leaders did not lack in information, in warning, to use a more urgent word. They were not ignorant about the future scenario.
Unfortunately up until now, no power plant has been constructed to enable us to operate independently – we call that islanding operation, in the event that an untoward incident happens in Leyte disrupting our main power supply carrier: the Leyte-Bohol power route.
Islanding operation or island-mode operation means having our own power generation capability enabling us to supply our own power needs. That’s the essence of a power-resilient Bohol.
Moreover, the capacity of the Leyte-Bohol submarine cables vis-à-vis the load growth in Bohol are now almost even. The capacity of the Leyte-Bohol submarine cables is between 95-100 megawatts (MW) with a 138-kilovolt (KV) circuit while for 2020 upwards, the power demand in Bohol is forecast at beyond 100 MW. You can already imagine the power situation when the submarine cables’ capacity is maximized and our power demand is higher than the former’s capacity. If you can’t, it’s simply power disruptions.
Zooming in on the interconnection project of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, the Cebu-Bohol 230 KV Interconnection Project is expected to be completed in December 2021 yet.
So what are we going to do until then? Remember that the electricity demand of Bohol has increased after the opening of the Bohol (Panglao) Airport. Of course, when an area finds itself hosting an airport, brisk businesses follow, hence another construction boom. All these activities demand power supply. So what shall we do until December 2021 then? Wait on our sweet asses?
From now until 2022 (I use 2022 for short-term visualization purposes), Bohol’s Demand and Energy Forecast indicates that we need 107 MW with Bohol I Electric Cooperative, Inc. or BOHECO I requiring 50 MW; Bohol II Electric Cooperative, Inc. or BOHECO II – 25 MW; and Bohol Light Company, Inc. – 32 MW. This is highlighted by Bohol’s Load Growth and Forecast from 2019-2024 that demands a base load of 70 MW and a peaking load of 15 MW.
So there. The data speaks for itself. What shall we do in the interim? Bring in more power barges that charge us exorbitant rates because of expensive fuel to burn to generate electricity? That is not even a long-term solution. That’s only a temporary solution.
It really boggles the mind why the leaders of the previous administration did not act on the problem that looked them in the eye.
They know all the facts. They know all the scenarios. It does not take a genius to understand the whole picture.
Where’s the choking point in all these? Is it a where, why, or who? Who has the leadership call? The Boholano electorate or the elected Boholano officials who are supposed to listen, represent, promote, and protect the interest of the people?
Your answer is as good as mine.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Don’t become too friendly now. It is too suspicious. And don’t start a feud. It’s long over and done with.
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For comments, you may reach the writer at belca.87@gmail.com./PN
