Hydropower Plants to prevent flooding in Philippines and electricity generation by utilising  typhoon water

Almendras Declares ‘State Of Emergency’

By MYRNA M. VELASCO

September 29, 2011, 11:07pm

MANILA, Philippines — Owing it to the immediate need to prevent further flooding in typhoon-stricken areas, Energy Secretary Rene D. Almendras has declared a “state of emergency” so the hydro power plantscan be merited priority dispatch by system operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.In a press conference, the energy chief noted that the move will be backed up with “a Circular to be issued by the Department of Energy.” The circular revolves on the declaration of emergency relating to the effect of typhoon Pedring in the power generation sector.Basically, he stressed that the ‘emergency declaration policy’ has been hinged on ensuring that the hydro plants will be dispatched as ‘must-run’ and for them to be compensated based on average generation price index (GPI) formula which is being applied when there is market suspension in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

Nevertheless, industry players noted that if the hydro plants would bid at “zero” in the WESM, they can be merited dispatch. The ‘state emergency declaration’ by the DoE is seen as a dangerous precedent as this will give license to other players to eventually “play around” with pricing rules in the market.

What the ‘emergency declaration’ entails for the consumers could be an added cost to be passed on in their bills, but the operator of the spot market assured that the power generators’ bid for adjusted settlement rates will have to be prudently scrutinized.

“There is a need to prioritize the dispatch of generation from the hydro plants to ensure that dams would be able to manage their water levels,” Almendras said; adding that “some of the (water levels) of the dams that we have are extremely high, with some of them just a meter or less than a meter away from spillage.”

He added “what we want to do is to make sure that we would be able to unload (water)… that the water level will come down a bit in anticipation of the rains that will be coming,” he said, in reference to the threats of two more typhoons (Quiel and Ramon) which are seen entering the country in the coming days.

Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) president Melinda L. Ocampo explained that while the GPI formula might merit additional cost that must be sought by the hydro power generators, “their applications would still have to be verified if they really incurred extra costs” in running the hydro plants.

The technical consideration on this aspect, Almendras explained, would be that the massive flooding can be eased or prevented if the hydro plants would be utilizing water for electricity generation.

The energy secretary qualified though that there is “no crisis in power supply”; in fact the grid has been teeming with supply because of low demand. Nevertheless, he emphasized that restoration setbacks are happening, mostly due to technical considerations, especially for those in flooded areas or even the storm-tossed tree branches falling on the distribution lines of the Manila Electric Company.