BUTUAN CITY – Enough power supply is assured during election day on May 10 as power producers are eyeing additional 200 megawatts (MW), it was learned Sunday.

It was also learned that the current 100 centimeters of water will be higher as much as 300 cm during election day, said Horacio Santos, general manager of Agusan del Norte Electric Cooperative (Aneco), during interview Sunday.

Due to the start of rains last week in Lake Lanao, the source of five Agus plants in the Mindanao grid, its water level increased to 2 cm.

“This is good news being given to us (33 Mindanao electric cooperatives) by National Power Corp. (Napocor) and National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). We can see now round-the-clock power supply during election day,” said Aneco Corporate Manager Engr. Noli Namocatcat.

Added to the sufficiency of power during election day is the commitment of big industrial customers in all key cities and provinces in the island to cooperate by way of shutting down their power so that electric power will not be short during the country’s first historic automated May 10 elections, added Namocatcat.

Mindanao island is suffering from severe power outages since January this year as billions of pesos were lost from industrial and agricultural sectors.

The government’s energy department, however, assured sufficient power supply from May 9 to 10, but the fate of power supply in Mindanao after election is still in “dark cloud.”

On Saturday, the Mindanao’s power deficit is 750 MW.

To date, Napocor and NGCP is imposing 4-6 hours rotating brownouts in all electric cooperatives and business industries in the island.

With all these sufferings besetting Mindanao power consumers, only Dinagat Islands in Surigao del Norte is spared by the rotating brownouts.

Dinagat Island Electric Cooperative (Dielco) located in San Jose Dinagat Island is the only power utility that does not experience brownouts amid the looming power crises experienced in Mindanao.