With the 620-megawatt Limay thermal power facility of San Miguel Energy still not technically feasible to operate because of remaining concerns in the operation and maintenance (O&M) agreement with contractor Alstom, electricity consumers in the Luzon grid are still not spared from experiencing the feared two-to-three rotating brownouts which may strike in the coming days.

The other dilemma of the consumers in the grid will be the high rates that would be reflected in the bills in the coming months, as load weighted average prices (LWAP) at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) were trailing as high as P18 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in the past trading days.

Nevertheless, trading participants qualified that there have been many constraint violation coefficients (CVCs) or pricing errors. Hence, these are considered temporal figures that shall be recalculated by market operator Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) and eventually integrate them into the actual marginal prices that will be employed for settlement.

Meanwhile, sources from the Department of Energy (DoE) admitted that Limay is still not operating until Monday; and that communication was already sent to them that the facility may not be on-line for some time because of the O&M hurdle and that it would also take time before it can be brought back from operation from idle state.

"While we are looking at other options, admittedly, it may take time before the Limay plant can be put into operation," ahighly-placed energy official noted.

The pronounced procurement of fuel by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) for the Malaya thermal plant is also seen experiencing delays because the budgeting process may still need to go through Board approval. The end-result in any delay in fuel procurement will mean lower generation from the Malaya plant and as predicted, fuel depletion may happen anytime this week.

The two measures have been the proposed solutions announced by Energy Secretary Angelo T. Reyes last week to allay consumers' anxieties over rotating brownouts in the country's biggest power grid.

The energy chief noted that he secured "assurance from the SMEC (San Miguel Energy Corporation) that Limay power plant will be on-line beginning Monday (February 15) to avert shortage in Luzon," adding that "PSALM has also assured to release funds for procurement in Malaya."

As of Monday though, data from system operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has indicated that the grid was in white condition with pretty much stable reserve of as high as 696 MW as of 2:00 p.m. The grid's peak demand was placed at 6,551 MW as against available capacity of 7,247 MW. Visayas and Mindanao, on the other hand, were still at deficit levels, with generation paucity hitting 115 MW and 116 MW, respectively.

The system operator explained that demand in Luzon during the day was considerably lower because of lower temperatures.