To prevent a repeat of the wittily-considered election dry-run of power outages, the Department of Energy (DoE) has called on power industry players for comprehensive discussions on what measures must be set in place to prevent recurrence of the rolling brownouts that hit Luzon grid this week.

The meeting presided by Energy secretary Angelo T. Reyes was attended by Dr. Walter Brown of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), President Froilan Tampinco of the National Power Corporation (NPC), President Melinda Ocampo of the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC), Atty. Ma. Luz Caminero of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), Atty. Debra Layugan and Atty. Florsinda Baldo of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), President Federico Puno of TeaM Energy, and Mr. Rafael Bueno Jr. of San Miguel Energy Corporation (SMEC).

The players concurred that the cause of the brownouts had been the plant shutdowns, but it was the Sual plant’s forced outage and lack of coal supply that were placed in sharp focus. The other plants on shutdown when the brownouts occurred include Limay, Calaca and Ilijan facilities.

During the stakeholders meeting, San Miguel Energy Corporation, independent power producer administrator (IPPA) of the Sual plant “committed to the expeditious delivery of coal and maintenance of appropriate level of inventory (for) Sual.” The company’s coal delivery to the Sual facility was rejected by IPP operator TeaM Energy because these were not according to specifications.

SMEC, which is also the buyer of the 620-megawatt Limay combined cycle power facility, also vowed to “hasten the immediate recommissioning of the plant.”

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), which is the duly designated seller of the privatized plants, committed to ensuring the “operational capability of new owners upon turn-over of privatized generating assets.”

The technical inequities of some of the plant buyers are seen as a factor that will plunge the country into another round of “darkness” if the situation would not improve in due time.

While solutions are being fleshed out, Reyes indicated that “he will meet with other power generation companies on February 4, 2010 to remind all power industry players of their respective responsibilities and obligations.”