Zamsureco-1 power curtailment down to 2 hours daily

 By Hirohito D. Cadion

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, May 19 (PNA) – The power curtailment in the areas being served by the Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperative-1 (Zamsureco-1) has been reduced by two hours from four hours daily.

Zamsureco-1 serves 69,857 member-consumers in this city and in 24 of the 26 towns of this province.

Zamsureco-1 information officer Liberal Cabatcha said Monday the daily power curtailment was cut by two hours when one of the turbines of the Steag State Power recently went back online.

The Steag State Power turbine provides an additional 105 megawatts (MW) to the Mindanao Grid.

Cabatcha said that with this development, Zamsureco-1 is receiving additional three MW from the National Power Corporation (Napocor).

Cabatcha said Napocor now provides 18 MW to Zamsureco-1 from the previous of 15 MW.

However, Napocor’s contracted power to Zamsureco-1 is 25 MW.

Cabatcha said Zamsureco-1 still has a power deficit of 6 MW since it is only receiving a total of 28 MW from Napocor and two Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

Cabatcha said the two IPPs that supply power to Zamsureco-1 of 5 MW each are the Aboitiz-owned Therma Marine, Incorporated and the Mapalad Power Corporation of the Alcanta Group.

Cabatcha said that Zamsureco-1 has a total peak load demand of 34 MW.

He said they are looking into possibilities of implementing shorter rotational brownouts within the commercial and industrial areas being served by Zamsureco-1.

Meanwhile, Pagadian City-Zamboanga del Sur Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Incorporated president Mercedes Lourdes Quisumbing said the reduction of the rotational brownouts will help them to gradually recover the losses they incurred the previous months due to long hours of power curtailment. (PNA)
FPV/TPGJR/HIROHITO D. CADION/JSD